Addicted
by Ms.Knibbe
Summary: As a conduit, life can be pretty hard, especially when the D.U.P. comes into play. Ella knows this all too well, and just as she thought she would be good at avoiding trouble, she gets caught in Seattle's lock-down. Now here she is, trying to hide herself from everyone's eyes, while some 'bannerman' is on her tail and the D.U.P. is still trying to catch her. It's just...great!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there, and welcome to this fanfiction. **

**Just before you start reading, I want to point out that English is not my first language. Now, this is not an excuse for any mistakes I made which could complicate the reading. It rather is a friendly invitation for you to point out the mistakes I made, so I can improve my writing skills and correct my mistakes. It is very difficult to improve when you don't have someone who points out your mistakes and/or corrects them, so I would really appreciate any kind of criticism you can offer. **

**But now, please enjoy reading the first chapter of 'Addicted'. :)**

_She stood there, petrified, staring at her father in disbelief. She couldn't believe what he'd just said. She had expected a lecture when the familiar gruff voice with a hint of annoyance and fatigue had called her downstairs. The relation between her and her father had been tensed in the last days. They would get into a fight more often and they were always irritated around each other. It would have been just one of many arguments a overtaxed father would have with his daughter stuck in puberty. _

_She thought that he would probably complain about the state of her room or how she should turn down the rubbish she would defend as music. Most likely he would lecture her about her new hair color he didn't like. Or rather colors. She had assumed that he would probably demand that she should dye it back so it would look all natural once again. But, unfortunately, those had not been any of the things he had wanted to talk about. Nothing like that at all. When she stepped into the kitchen, she knew that the following conversation would not be about her immature behavior or her hair style when she saw her father sitting at the table, holding hands with his girlfriend Helga. _

_Helga was usually not present when she was lectured by her father. She had felt that it was not her place to do such things, always trying to stay out of the sometimes strained father-daughter relationship. And when she was, she would not be holding hands with him like a teenage-couple and grinning like a small child who just got it's favorite candy. No, this would not be about her at all_

"_Ella, Helga and I, we wanted to tell you something very important."_

_He paused, obviously trying to build up tension, before her dad glanced at Helga, as if asking for_

_her permission to go on. Ella already knew that she would have preferred a scolding about her hair:_

"_We will get married!"_

_That wasn't really news she had expected. It took some time to process the information she had just received. But it did not really make sense in her head, no matter how hard she tried._

"_What?!"_

"_We will get married!"_

"_I understood you the first time, dad!"_

_The feeling of confusion and disbelief was gone rather quickly, replaced by anger and fury. The fuck were they thinking, what was her father thinking? He couldn't just marry Helga and expect her to just accept it. But the way they were looking at her, they expected some sort of congratulations! But she wasn't alright, and she sure as heck wouldn't pretend to be alright with any of this! She would not hide her anger and disapproval and play 'nice daughter' just to not hurt their feelings._

_The smile on the adults' faces slowly melted away, giving away their growing confusion. That certainly had not been the reaction they had expected or hoped for._

"_What's the matter, dear?"_

"_What's the matter?! This is a shitty idea and you know it, you both know it. You can't just marry her and expect me to just sit there and smile!"_

_While Helga now looked a bit hurt and uncomfortable, her fathers facial expression turned into a serious stare. Ella knew this stare far too well. It meant trouble for her, but she honestly didn't care. Helga had just turned out to be the mot hated person in her entire life, and it had just taken her one sentence to achieve it. What did it matter if Ella's words hurt Helga's frail and sensitive feelings? _

"_Maybe I leave you two alone for a second." Helga mumbled, before she hastily stood up and fled the room, closing the door behind her and shutting herself out from the awkward and frigid tension. Ella silently hoped that she would suddenly slip and break her neck. That would have solved this problem rather efficiently. And while she knew that Helga leaving would not raise her risk of dying, Ella still appreciated it. This was a private matter, just between father and daughter and if Helga would stay, she would just disturb both of them. And Ella would not have to look at her ugly face anymore._

_As soon as the door had closed behind her, Ella yelled at her father again:_

"_What are you thinking. You just can't marry her! This is a big, stupid mistake you are making! I don't want you to marry her!"_

_Ella's father just sat there, listening to her pointless yelling and shouting. It was nothing but a child throwing a tantrum. His facial expression did not change, he kept staring at her with a cold and serious stare, patiently waiting for her to cool down._

"_This is not your decision to make, Ella!" he pressed out, restraint evident in his voice._

_Yet, with no other hint of emotion evident and his word stating the painful truth so plainly, it did nothing but infuriate Ella even more._

"_Oh, really?! But it affects me. You cannot expect me to just go with it. Do you think I will accept her as some sort of step-mother? Do you think she will replace mom? Is this some pathetic attempt to find a replacement for me, so that I might think about spending more time with you than with her? Because I won't, it will not work! This is just another big mistake! She is just another mistake of yours"_

_That clearly got a reaction from her dad. A tiny spark of pride enlightened in her chest, proud of her ability to break his icy facade. All of the sudden he rose from his seat, slamming his flat palm onto the table and shouting:_

"_Watch your mouth, young lady! I don't tolerate such disrespectful behavior to me or to Helga. This is not the way we raised you! She is a great woman and you have no right at all to call my relationship with her or her herself a mistake! Am I understood!?"_

_Normally, his temper could usually be described best as 'calm as still water'. So had Ella been just a little bit more reasonable, she would have backed away, intimidated by her father's outburst. But not this time. She wasn't sure if she was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid by continuing the argument, maybe both. But she could clearly feel the rage boiling inside her like hot water. The feeling was unfamiliar, something was odd. But in all honesty, at the moment, she did not care. She just wanted to blow off some steam. She wanted to be heard by her father. She would probably regret this very soon, but if she didn't do it now, she would most likely burst with all this pressure growing in her chest._

"_Oh, you think I would care? Maybe, when you marry her, you will abandon me. You will abandon me just like you did with mom! Maybe you will even abandon Helga in the end!"_

"_I did not leave her! She left me and it was evident that it would have not worked out with your mother..."_

"_If you knew _you_ would leave her, then why did you think it to be a good idea to have a child with her?! And why do you think you can do the same mistake again with Helga?!"_

"_Don't interrupt me ever again! You hear me?! And how dare you to talk like that to your father!"_

_He had taken a step towards her. His whole body was tensed, as if he had trouble to control himself. His hands were clenched and his eyes showed his fury he was trying to hold back. He looked like he was about to slap her._

_The strange feeling in her chest grew stronger and stronger, and with it, her confidence grew while common sense was dwindling in her head. Why wouldn't it just go away? What did she have to do in order to get rid of this pressure, that pressure that kept her going on, that let her believe that it was a good idea to just blame her father with those accusations? To yell at him and provoke him. But she wanted to settle this, to get it out of her system. Maybe the answers would solve her problem. _

_What else did she have to do to release this feeling that almost hurt her. Did she have to go further with her outburst? Did she have to stop? Just what did she have to do?_

"_I wanna know why you did it Why you do it now? Don't you learn from your failures? Will you also leave Helga when the time comes? _Why _would you do that?"_

_The feeling was unbearable now, she couldn't take it anymore, she could feel how she would explode any moment now. _

"_Just tell me _why_!"_

_And then, suddenly, before her father could react, she burst, but not in the way she ever thought possible. She didn't knew how she did it, she didn't even know that she could do it. She had been burning with rage from the inside, yet everything around her was frozen. _

_There had never been any hints. She was shocked, so was her father. Both stared at each other, wide-eyed. What had just happened? The argument they just had was already forgotten, almost felt trivial, the anger replaced by shock, panic and fear. Why was she one of _them_? The fury she had just felt only seconds ago was gone, gone with the pressure. Her gaze wandered from her fathers shocked face to the frozen floor to the now in ice covered kitchen counter. Then her gaze went back to her father's face, searching for any kind of answer, for some kind of reassurance or security. But there was none, she could just see her fear and shock reflected in her fathers eyes. And that frightened her even more. Even though she had just had an argument with her father seconds ago, even though she sometimes hated her father, she had always felt safe around him. Fear wasn't something she ever saw in her father's face, never. She began trembling. What was happening? What had just happened?_

"_Dad?", she asked with a shaky tone, terror evident in her voice._

"_What just happened, dad?"_

_Ella felt how tears were slowly running down her cheeks. This was way too much for her to take in right now._

"_Ella! Ella, my darling, take a deep breath."_

_She did not listen. Was she a conduit now? A freak? A bioterrorist? What would she do now, what would her father do now? How would she explain it to mom? Would she even see her mother again? Would the D.U.P. Now arrest her? But she hadn't done anything yet? How was she supposed to deal with it? Was she a criminal now? She had done nothing wrong! But she was dangerous now, just like those monsters she had seen so many times on TV._

_Her father began approaching her cautiously. The movement let her snap back to the present. Terrified, she took a step back from him. She did not want to hurt him. She was a hazard now, a threat. She lifted her hands in a defensive gesture, evidently scaring her father into thinking for a moment that she would attack him as well._

"_No! Don't come near me."_

_Her father, after a moment of silence, took another daring step forward:_

"_Calm down, darling."_

_She didn't want to hurt him, but she could not control it. This ability, this horrible ability. Why was he approaching her? What if she had an outburst again? This pressure, this feeling, she didn't know how to handle it! She would hurt him! What if she killed him? _

"_Please, dad. I can't control it."_

_He did not listen to his daughters' pleading. _

"_Ella, pull yourself together. I know you won't hurt me. But first of all, calm yourself and then we can start looking for a solution, okay? But first, calm down."_

_She nodded, and tried to take deep breaths. Deep, even, breaths. Everything was fine, she could hold it in. She just needed to relax. But her thoughts always found their way back to her newfound curse. Everything started to blend, her breathing would not even out._

"_Everything is fine, Sötnos*. Just relax." she heard her father say, but she did not see him. Everything was white, so bright that it hurt her eyes._

"_Just calm down. Easy now. No need to panic."_

* * *

A loud, annoying alarm sound rang through the whole flat, effectively waking up the owner in a most unpleasant, but effective way. She didn't want to get up right now. The bed was so comfortable and she was too tired and unmotivated to leave the warmth of her bedsheets. A quick glance to the noisy alarm clock next to her though told the young woman that she had to get up right now if she wanted to be ready in time. So with a groan, she lazily sat up and tried to turn off the annoying and noisy device, which was already giving her a headache so early in the morning. Only then did she ungracefully rise from her bed to start a new day.

Her first stop was in her bathroom, and when she turned on the lights she was almost blinded by the sudden brightness. It had surprised her so much in her sleepy mood that she had almost slipped and fallen to the cold ground. Blinking a few times while shielding her eyes, she tried to adjust her eyes to their new enlightened surroundings. When she was finally able to see herself in the mirror properly, she saw a tired, young woman with blue eyes and messy, light blond hair staring right back at her. An exasperated sigh escaped her lips. she looked like an overworked old lady, with those dark circles around her eyes, her tired and numb facial expression, her oily skin and her hair that looked like it had never seen a brush in their entire existence. Her mouth was slightly opened and there was a trail of saliva at the corner of her mouth, meaning she had drooled while sleeping.

Ella quickly decided that a shower right now would be a great idea, so she started searching for towels and clean clothes she could wear today. Towels were easily found, but while searching for a proper outfit she could wear today, she desperately rummaged through her wardrobe, scattering most of it's contents on the floor and thus leaving a mess behind. When she finally had gathered everything she had been looking for, she returned to the bathroom and took off her t-shirt and sweatpants, before she slipped behind the shower curtains.

Soon the feeling of thousands of water droplets making contact with her skin were chasing away the tension and sleepiness in her muscles. She closed her eyes, concentrated on the tingling sensation she felt on her skin, savoring the moment. But she could not spend too much time under the shower, she had to hurry up in order to appear at work on time. What a pity! But as always, she forced herself with what will power she could muster up this early to quickly shampoo her hair and wash her body with soap before reluctantly stepping out of the shower.

Around twenty minutes later she stepped out of the bathroom, completely dressed and styled for the day. But a quick glance on her smartphone told her she wouldn't be able to have a decent breakfast at home, because even though she had tried at least a little bit, she had taken her sweet time getting ready for the day. The bus to work would arrive in ten minutes. But maybe, if she was lucky enough, she'd still have some time when she got off the bus to make a quick stop at the 'Latte Owl coffeehouse' to buy herself something to fill her empty stomach. Yep, that sounded like a plan her growling stomach would approve of. If she didn't get a decent breakfast today, then all hope for this day would be lost immediately. So she quickly grabbed her keys and her bag and checked if she had everything she needed: smartphone, purse, her calendar, bus ticket, the keys to her flat, earphones, ID-card, pills. Everything there! Ella was ready to go.

* * *

She hastily got onto the bus, using her ticket to get past the bored looking bus driver without a problem and quickly searched for a free seat. The air in the bus was warm, but also stifling, compared to the slightly cold, but fresh air she had just breathed outside while walking to the bus station. It was unpleasant to breathe in here, but luckily, she didn't have to sit in the bus for too long. She would survive. While she sat there in silence and listened to the music on her smartphone, she got her calendar out of her bag, skimming over the hastily written notes in it and checking for any appointments she might have forgotten in her haste. But her thoughts never stayed on the small booklet in her hands, they always shifted to the dream she had experienced last night.

As far as she could still remember, she had dreamed of the day her powers had first revealed themselves. Her _powers_. She had never really been happy about having them. Because of her powers she had to hide what she really was, who she really was. No one would ever know her real self. If others would find out, they would just fear her, like Helga did, like her father did, like her mother did. Because of her powers she had to run from the government, as if she had ever done something blatantly wrong. For them, all conduits were the same, for them, conduits were maniacs who would go on a rampage when given the chance. Because of her power she became a criminal without doing anything and because of her powers she would never have a normal or quiet life.

And it all had started back then, when she had just been an average teenager with average teenage problems and average nasty and immature teenage behavior. When she had just been visiting her father during vacation back in Sweden expecting nothing special. And then, she had unlocked her unknown _gift_, accidentally turning the kitchen into a giant ice hall. From there, her whole life had changed and gone downhill.

But even if life hadn't turned out to be how she would have imagined or preferred it, and even when she would rather get rid of her abilities than keep them, she could say that being a conduit sometimes was a cool thing that would come in handy in some situations. But in the world how it was now, with the people fearing conduits and conduits being the minority, she'd rather be a normal person. As a normal person, you wouldn't have to run and hide from the D.U.P.. Those people were the worst consequence of being a conduit. Those guys had full authority to do anything to anyone at any time without facing any consequences. And they _did _make use of that authority! She feared them even more than any side effects her skills could secretly harbor.

But she was safe from them for now because she wasn't herself, but a fraction of her own imagination. She was not Elisabeth Swanson, but Isabella Smith, and Isabella Smith was a normal person who had just recently decided to move to Seattle for some time and who had never come into contact with any bio-terrorist in her entire life. With some luck, she would be safe from them. And maybe, if the rumored miracle turned out to be true, she could be safe for a very long time. If that, what the news had said was indeed based on facts, then most of the conduits were imprisoned now. That meant, that the D.U.P. had served it's purpose and that they now had to fulfill their last command to hand over the captured conduits to the government. Then, they would soon dissolve the hated organization, as now, they had served their purpose. Ella was sure that the government would probably not waste it's time and budget to hunt down the few remaining individuals as long as they would not cause any problems. They were not worth the trouble. Simply put, she just had to not screw it up for the next few months and she could live a life without changing identities every few month and settling on one made up identity.

* * *

When the blond woman had gotten off the bus she had undoubtedly been relieved. The air had become almost unbearable in there, so the first thing she did was to take a deep breath. The fresh, cold air in her lungs was as refreshing as it was slightly painful. But she had no time to savor it much longer, her growling stomach reminded her of her plan to go to a coffeehouse to fill it with at least a coffee. The Latte owl coffeehouse was just across the street and on her way to work, so she went straight to the small coffeehouse with the bright neon-sign of an owl, stepped through the door and lined up. The queue wasn't that long, so Ella still had hope to come to work in time and with having a decent breakfast, a rare occurrence in her life.

But there was queue nonetheless, meaning that she had to wait for her turn to order something by the unmotivated looking guy behind the counter. She decided to play a game on her phone to kill some time, but was soon distracted by a small conversation between the two people before her. Ella didn't really try listening to them, but it appeared to be harder to ignore them than paying attention, considering how loudly they spoke. For all she knew, they intended for everyone around them to eavesdrop on their words. And the topics weren't even that thrilling. They were mostly just gossiping about this and that, nothing really interesting, until one of them changed the subject to a specific incident.

"You heard what happened yesterday?"

"You mean that those drug dealers who killed three passers while the police tried to arrest them? Happened somewhere here around the corner, didn't it?"

"Yeah that as well, but I don't mean that. You really haven't heard it, have ya?"

"A lot happens around here, you gotta be more specific."

"They say that a transport with some bio-terrorists had an accident somewhere in the Akomish reserve."

"No way, that isn't so far away from Seattle. You just have to cross the bridge in Queen Anna's district. I just hope nothing too bad happened."

"Well, the drivers died instantly during the accident and two bio-terrorists are on the loose now. The D.U.P. was able to capture only one of three yet."

"Fuck, really? Do they have a clue where the other two could be? Any lead so far? Hate the thought of two of those lunatics running around here somewhere."

"Yes, but you're not going to like it."

"You are not shitting me, are you? Here?! Never thought one of their kind would wind up here after all this time."

"Let's you think twice before you leave your home, right?"

"I'm actually more scared of what will happen now. The same procedure as always: Immediate lock-down. Not looking forward to this!"

"As long as they get their job done quickly, I don't care really. I just want to feel safe when walking down the street."

"No way! Why do we normal people have to be held in captivity when it is only them who should remain behind bars? To take over a whole city for just three criminals? I don't see any reason why I should be okay with that!""

The conversation was interrupted by the unmotivated guy behind the counter, who was asking for the first person's order. Ella turned pale. Her stomach clenched, her appetite gone. She was in big trouble. Scratch that, she was screwed. This couldn't actually be true now, could it? That guy just got some wrong information or was spreading rumors. There had never been a single incident in Curdun Cay where a prisoner had been able to escape, and now a whole transport had an accident with two conduits actually being able to run away? No way, that dude clearly was misinformed, she was sure of it. He had no clue who he was talking about, because the D.U.P. Would never allow this to happen. He had to be! Because if he wasn't, and the story he just told his friend was true, then the D.U.P. would get her for sure this time around. It was easy to hide from the D.U.P.'s eyes when they had no clue where to look for you. But if they had you trapped in a city, then there was no escape. Once you are in, you can't get out and they had their ways to tell apart the conduits from the bio-terrorists. They watched everyone at any time.

She had always been able to escape before they locked down a city. But if this was true, and today was already the second day, the D.U.P. was settling down in the city right at this moment. It was probably too late for her. It had only taken them two days to cut New York off from the outer world, and just two and a half weeks to take control over the entire city by building some weird scan-stations, installing special surveillance cameras and sending soldiers on patrol on a regular basis. Keeping a low profile was almost impossible under these circumstances.

And her pills. If she bought any more pills or the substances which could replace them, they would find out that she or one of her sort of conduit was in the city. It was all planned out from the beginning to the end, no way to identify possible suspects left unsupervised.

She immediately left the coffeehouse, uncertain where to go now. Should she go to work, acting like nothing had ever happened or was about to happen? Should she go and find the next transport out of the city? The harbor wasn't too far away, she could take a ferry right now. Or should she drive back home first and gather her most important belongings before trying to leave the city?

The first option was out of the question. That was the most stupid thing to do now, the chances of leaving the city were shrinking with every minute, going to work would just be a waste of time. Any hopes of upholding the identity of Isabella Smith would be in vain, sooner or later they would find out. She had to leave now! Gathering the most important belongings would take a while, but she didn't really want to lose that, she would need a couple of things for her escape and she'd feel safer not leaving any trace of her whereabouts behind. Should she take that risk? The time left for her unnoticed escape shrank with every passing second. She wouldn't take any risks, better safe than sorry, or something like that.

Her decision was made, she would abandon her things, when the threat was gone, she still could try to return and get everything that was left, if there was anything to retrieve. She wouldn't risk her freedom for some clothes, sentimental reminders and some minor valuables. It wasn't the first time she had to do something like that, so Ella would get over it. With a determined expression she began heading for the harbor.

* * *

When the young woman reached her destination, she was surprised to see a small crowd at the docks where the ferries, which were headed to locations out of town, would land. Frustrated and angry shouts could be heard and some people were waving their fist over their heads in an aggressive manner. Ella suspected the worst. And then she saw a flash of yellow before the slowly growing crowd. For the second time this day her face went pale and her whole body stiffened. Was she already too late? God, please, let that not be a blockade of the DU.P..

Slowly, she approached the crowd, with every step the tension in her body grew, making moving through the crowd rather difficult. With little struggle, she shoved her way to the front where everyone was looking while some shouts and murmurs like 'You can't do that', 'I have work to do there' or 'Why are they here' were ringing in her ears like an alarm. Her hope, that this wasn't a blockade but just an unimportant accident, was dwindling with every step and with every murmur. As she gently pushed the last person out of her way, she froze:

At least four men with yellow and black armor, black helmets and guns were standing behind barriers with the D.U.P. logo at it. Two of the men were pointing their gun barrels at the persons who were standing too close to the barrier. They were trying to retain control over the group, afraid that they would overrun the small blockade with the advantage of number of people.

"For the last time, the ferries out of town are all closed. There won't be any ships leaving the harbor today. So leave now before we are forced to use more aggressive methods."

Should she try to take them out? They were no match for her and her abilities, even with those guns. She had learned that a long time ago. But there were far too many civilians who could see her. If she used her powers now, they would probably get hit by some randomly fired bullets. And even if nobody beside those D.U.P.- Agents would get harmed, those people would certainly scatter in no time, telling about a bio-terrorist gone rogue and attacking randomly, too frightened by her abilities. Or there would be some stupid idiots who would try to oppose her, trying to play the hero they thought was needed. There was no way she would get out of town with a ferry without forcing someone to maneuver it. Not here. And the D.U.P. would certainly watch the Washington river from above, and if there were no ships allowed, then she wouldn't get over to the other side unnoticed.

Maybe she could create a small but heavy snow storm, taking their sight like a fog would, then freeze the water and run on foot to the other side. But that would take way too long, and even if those guys probably weren't exactly very smart, they weren't stupid either, and snow out of nowhere during this time of the year that was only falling near the harbor was like screaming into their faces ' Hey, I'm a conduit. Look what I can do!'. Even if the snow would give her some cover, they would find a way to pinpoint her anyways. They had managed so before. If one thought about it, it wasn't that hard, really.

She desperately thought of a way to get away without drawing in any attention. But she went out of options, She just couldn't find a way. There _was_ no way! But she needed to get out of here. Yet, any possibility of escape right now would inevitably get her captured in no time, even if she would be able to slip away this time. They would be on her tail instantly, and she wouldn't get so lucky twice in her life.

"Skit!*"

* * *

_**one week later**_

Delsin stood before the Space Needle, admiring his work. He could really recognize his piece of art, even from down here. Now everyone could admire his stunning masterpiece and praise him. He just hoped that the dupes would acknowledge his work as well and hone it, he really tried hard to make it as good as possible. So they better did not take the tagged banner down, or else...

But he couldn't believe his ears as some people, who were also staring up to admire his masterpiece, as they called the great artist of this artwork 'The Banner Man'. Really? That was just lame, he just made a beautiful tag and was freeing this city from the crazy concrete queen and her minions and all they could come up with was _Banner Man_? That almost hurt! Where did all the creativity go these days?

But while thinking about a way to change this ridiculous name as soon as possible, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He quickly got it out, just to see that he got an incoming call from his brother. Great, his brother could surely give him an advise as to how to get rid of his little problem. He answered it and raised the phone to his ear:

"Delsin? I've been asking around about the escaped bioterrorists-"

In all honesty, Delsin didn't really care what his brother was about to say now, he had a more urgent

problem, and it needed to be discussed...right now:  
"Do you think I maybe need a P.R. Guy?"  
That sure confused Reggie, Delsin didn't need to see his face, he could clearly hear it in his brother's voice.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"People here are starting to call me the 'Banner Man' which, A is unbelievably lame."

"Uh, maybe not the best idea you hanging around the Space Needle right now."

Delsin ignored that comment and got straight back to his complaining about the nickname those people gave him.  
"I mean, why not 'Smoketastic Man' or hell, just 'The Smoker'?"

Maybe all the imagination these people lacked had instead been given to him. That would make a whole lot more sense than just accepting their tasteless choice in nicknaming people.

"Look, I'll keep trying to get a better lead on the escaped Bio-terrorists. Why don't you see if you can disrupt other D.U.P. operations around there until I get back to you. You can start in Belltown, reports say that there is something wrong with the equipment already. Security cameras constantly detect something and the Tracker Drones report high bio-terrorist activity there, although they couldn't track one yet. Should be easy work for you. And _then_ you can think about hiring a P.R. Guy."

"All right, have it your way. But do you think that might be a conduit setting all these alarms off in the district?"

"I don't know, but rather unlikely. It's pretty suspicious that it mostly happens in Belltown, but the D.U.P. has dismissed those occurrences as malfunctioning equipment. I would not really call it a lead, but it's a start and the best I can offer right now."

"Doesn't matter, that will do for now. Thanks, Reggie."

Delsin hung up, then headed into the direction of the Belltown district.

'Well, then I'm going to visit my friends the D.U.P. in Belltown and maybe, who knows, learn some new tricks.'

* * *

*Sötnos – sweetheart

*Skit – Shit

* * *

**Well, that was the first chapter. Tell me in the comments what you think about it.**

**What is your first impression of Ella? Where did I make mistakes, grammar mistakes, wrong comma placement, logic mistakes, wrong vocabulary?**

**I know I left some question open like, what power does Ella exactly has (although it should be pretty obvious ;)), or her back-story. But I'll reveal those things bit by bit. Would be pretty lame if I came up with all her secrets and quirks in the first chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm sorry, mam, but due to the current measures that had to be taken in order to capture the bioterrorists, we could only be supplied with the most important medicines. And the product you asked for has already been sold."

Ella was starting to get really desperate. That had been the third drugstore she had gone to, and none of them had what she needed. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips, the situation was growing worse with every day she was trapped in this godforsaken city.

She bit her lower lip, shifted her weight from one leg to the other and folded her arms as she tried to think of a way to solve her problem. How could she get what she needed so badly? That had been the last drugstore in this area which could have had any supplies left, and trying to leave the district would mean to get past the scan-stations. Of course she could try sneaking around those checkpoints by going through small alleys or over rooftops, but she already knew that there were also many dupes patrolling the area to make sure everybody would be behave and nicely play after their rules if they wanted to leave the district.

She needed those medications as soon as possible, the last time she had taken a pill had been two days ago. Or three? She wasn't sure. But she already felt how _it_ slowly gained more and more control over her body, how she was already suffering under it. How the bedsheets suddenly felt rougher at night, how she couldn't fall asleep anymore because she could feel _everything _ten-times stronger than before, because all of a sudden, everything seemed to make loud noises. Then, she would break out in cold sweat randomly or would be seized by a cramp, she felt cold more often. And her powers? They were slowly getting out of control. She felt how they were growing, and how they were betraying her to the D.U.P.. Yet, with setting so many alarms off at the same time, they couldn't pinpoint her, and she was lucky that they thought it was because of some faulty equipment. But it wouldn't take them too long to figure out what really was happening. After all, they weren't _that_ stupid. And the condition she was in still was bearable. But how long would it take until she would have the more severe symptoms? Until she would lose control, until _it_ would gain the upper hand?

She wished the shop assistant a good day and quickly left the drugstore. As she walked down the street, something unsettled her, it was too quiet. Or was she just becoming paranoid? She didn't have the feeling of being watched anymore, and there weren't any soldiers she could see. There was no sound of a surveillance camera setting off the alarm, no loud speakers announcing how extremely dangerous bio-terrorists were and how civilians should report any suspicious persons and no civilians laying on the pavement, hurt and unable to move. She wasn't sure how she should react to that. Should she be relieved that those cameras had been turned off and that she had her peace for once this week or should she be suspicious as to why there was no alarm and no yellow soldiers in sight? Was it a trap, or was she just lucky?

Her phone vibrated, interrupting her trail of thoughts and informing her that she had a new message:

_Hey Ellie, you still wanna meet up for that coffee you promised me?_

The message was from Jonah, an acquaintance from work. Meeting for a coffee didn't sound bad at all, after that failed attempt to find the medication and less of the D.U.P. around, she could use some company and Jonah was a friendly guy. Sometimes a bit weird and strange, but the closest she could call a friend. She hadn't planned on doing anything else anyway and she could move more freely for now, so why not? Without hesitation, she quickly typed an answer:

_Sure, why not? Meet you at the cafe in the Denny Park in ten minutes?_

She didn't have to wait long for a reply:

_Fine by me. See you there._

Immediately, she changed her course and turned to the right into a small alley. She could think about her problems later, now she wanted to distract herself from them. If she didn't do anything now, she'd go crazy, not something she would let happen. The alley she entered was normally deserted, a small shortcut she'd taken several times. Seemed as if the D.U.P. was also patrolling here somewhere in the area, otherwise they wouldn't have mounted those incredibly ugly comfort stations here. They certainly didn't put them up for the public, even though people were using them too. But as she glanced to those yellow comfort stations, she stopped in her tracks. She stared at the wall behind them, slowly proceeding what she was seeing, before a smile crept up her face. That smile evolved into a giggle quickly. That hadn't been there when she'd used the shortcut to get to the drugstore fifteen minutes ago.

Someone had sprayed a queue to the wall, looking like they waited to use the toilet. But at the end of the queue, there was a man in yellow and black armor, obviously a D.U.P. soldier, and he looked like he would soil his pants any moment now. That graffiti had been the most creative she had seen in a while. Normally those 'graffiti artists' would just spray their names or some messages that didn't make any sense, but this picture had actually been a creative piece of work, understandable for everyone and with some sort of purpose. She made a picture with her phone, so she wouldn't forget it before moving on. But that image stayed in her mind the whole day.

* * *

She looked up from her phone as the other chair at the table made scratching noises while being pulled back by a person. While she had been waiting for her 'friend' to arrive, she had already occupied a table for two outside of the small cafe, enjoying the good weather today. A young man with auburn hair and a short boxed beard sat down, made himself comfortable before he concentrated his attention on the blond woman, who was eying him questioningly. He was 15 minutes late. Apparently, he understood her questioning gaze, because instead of greeting her he started explaining immediately :

"Sorry, it took me a bit longer than I thought to get here. You know, with all these scan-stations and patrols. And that Banner man flushing the D.U.P. like they are all partridges makes those gun-wielding dudes a bit more trigger-happy."

Shock appeared on the blond woman's face. 'Trigger-happy'? They had tried to _shoot_ him on his way here? Were those guys crazy? She knew that they sometimes beat up people who tried to do something very stupid or provoked them -those people laying injured on the pavement didn't do it for the sports-, but shooting at obedient civilians?

"Jävlar*, they did _what_?!"

His eyes widened slightly as he realized how his last statement sounded and quickly shook his head, hastily explaining himself:

"No no no no, that sounded wrong! They didn't _really _shoot at me. They just threatened to do so. Pointing their guns at civilians and making friendly comments like 'Try anything stupid and we'll shoot you immediately'. No reason to panic. But it's nice to see that you care about me."

Ella heaved a sigh of relief, for one moment she thought her heart would stop beating. Last thing she needed was the D.U.P. going on a rampage and shooting Jonah and other random people. Stupid Jonah, scaring her like this.

"Well, I'm glad they just threatened people and didn't actually shoot at anyone."

"I didn't say that. I said they didn't shoot at _me_."

Now he was talking like that on purpose. She wasn't in the mood for that.

"Jonah, that's not funny."

"No, really. I heard gunshots and screams coming from that place where the awfully pink car-wash is. Think it was the Banner man ."

He was talking about people possibly dying like it was nothing. And he hadn't been scared and had gone back to his flat, but instead he had continued heading here. And who was the 'Banner Man'?

That name didn't ring a bell. Should it?

"And you just didn't give a damn about it? And who is the 'Banner Man'?"

Now Jonah seemed to be dumbfounded. As if she had said something really stupid. She didn't though, did she? She never heard of someone called 'The Banner man'. She was pretty sure she'd remember such a silly name. But that stare of him made her feel uncomfortable, confused.

"You haven't heard of him? Man, do you live under a rock? He's like, I don't know, the freaking hero of this city. He's awesome, I tell you. He runs around and kicks those yellow soldiers' asses, but at the same time, he's showing mercy to us, he frees the people who are suspected of being conduits and heals the injured on the street. Doesn't ring a bell?"

"Not really," she answered hesitantly.

"He cleaned up at the Space Needle? Hanged his Banner there? That's why they call him 'Banner Man'? Come on, that was on the news!"

"That guy that hoisted up that flag on top of the Space Needle gave himself a name? I didn't know that, also didn't know of his hobbies. Then, he's a conduit?"

"I suppose, I don't think an ordinary mortal would survive all those bullets and concrete throwing monkeys."

She rolled her eyes at his words, smiling nonetheless.

One of the reasons why she liked Jonah was his attitude towards conduits and the D.U.P.. At work, she had soon realized that he was one of those few who didn't support the D.U.P. or trusted the government blindly, like most of the people did. Of course he didn't support conduits actively or praised them, but he had understood that they had once been normal persons, like everyone else. So why would suddenly _all_ of them turn into reckless and ruthless criminals? And then, when Seattle had been locked down and the citizens captured in the city, he had soon learned to dislike the D.U.P.. She was more comfortable around him, because when it came to those conversations, she didn't have to act up and pretend to support the arrest of all bio-terrorists. But she also was no fool, and so she didn't tell him of her secret. She left him unaware of her real self, afraid of his reaction or what he might spill, on purpose or not. She couldn't trust him, and just because of that fact, she couldn't call him a friend, as much as she'd loved to.

After they both ordered a coffee and a piece of chocolate cake for Jonah -which Ella would have to pay for, because she had promised him to treat him- they changed the subject. They were talking about work, how the lock-down of the city was interfering with their job and how this whole situation put them out of work:

"So, with all that free time we both got right now, what did you do today?",

Jonah asked after sipping at his cup filled with the black and bitter liquid.

"Not much. Actually, I just brought new shoes and roamed various drugstores. Tried to find some Anexylamin, but it's already been sold in every store in this district and I'd hate to go through those scan-stations. Especially not when the dupes seem to get more aggressive, if what you're telling me is true."

"As if I'd dare lying to such an ugly and intimidating creature of your likes. But seriously, you can't leave the district anyway, not while the Banner Man is still in Belltown. And I wouldn't try to sneak past them. If they catch you, you're screwed."

"Jävla skit*, I really need those pills, but apparently there is no need to support the city with any Anexylamin at all. I get the feeling their new motto is 'Fuck the people'. Dumma* D.U.P.."

"You thought about going to the hospital? You never told me which disease you are suffering from, but if it is that bad as you let it sound like, you really need this. And I'm sure the D.U.P. wouldn't dare to 'fuck' the people who are ill, they could catch diseases, you know? Could be worth a try."

"Forget it,"

Ella snapped immediately a little bit too loud. Her eyes had slightly widened in fear and her body slightly tensed. Jonah, a bit startled from Ella's reaction, eyed her suspiciously now:

"And why?" he asked, emphasizing the last word.

Suddenly, she seemed to be nervous, avoiding his questioning his stare and trying find a proper answer:

"Because..Well...I don't like...hospitals?"

It was rather another question than an answer. When she realized that he obviously wasn't buying it, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath before answering:

"Look, I really don't wanna go to a hospital. They creep me out and I've been avoiding them since I was a teenager, okay? There _has_ to be another way."

His intense stare made her uncomfortable and at the moment, she just wanted to escape it. Would he leave it at that, or would he try to find out what was so horrible about hospitals that she didn't want to go there? One thing was sure for Ella though, he surely wouldn't get any answers from her if he decided to bug her more questions. After what seemed like ages, his stare softened a bit -to her surprise- and his eyes darted to the left, then to the right as if he suddenly was looking for some ninja to jump out of a bush to attack them. When the coast seemed to be clear, he leaned a bit forward, she did the same. What did he have in mind now? Did he feel watched? She prepared for anything bad that could escape his lips, from scolding, to threats. But what he said next, in a low voice, surprised her:

"Look, normally I don't have much to do with those people and I won't try to make you do drugs, but those dealers hanging around here can get you anything you want. Don't ask me how they manage to pass those medications through the customs, but I'm sure they can get you your pills, if they don't already have a supply stash hidden somewhere. With that lack of medications in legal stores, their business has to run as good as ever."

The blond woman was baffled, speechless and completely confused. She certainly hadn't expected that answer. She had expected scolding, suspicious interest, but not...such a suggestion. Maybe she had just imagined his last words, because even if Jonah sometimes was strange or sometimes a little bit extraordinary, she had been sure that he wasn't doing any drugs or in possession of any connections to those sort of people. Was she already hallucinating because of her lack of pills?

"What did you just suggest," she asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"One more time, I don't tell you to do drugs, and I won't judge you if you'll go to them at times like these. I mean, there are only three options for you here: You wait, you go to the hospital or you go to them. Two out of three are ruled out, what other choice does the D.U.P. leave people like you? Just trying to help, _not_ advertising their business."

"_How _would you even know about this?"

"I tell you how I got the information when you tell me why you need Anexylamin. What _is _that stuff anyway, never heard of it before."

He raised an eyebrow, his facial expression daring. She narrowed her eyes. For a brief moment, she considered telling him what he wanted to know, just out of curiosity, but she quickly decided against it. That information she would get in exchange wasn't worth it.

Her body relaxed, she leaned back in her chair, running a hand through her braided hair without untangling it and looked into the sky, thinking about her options. After a couple of seconds, she let out a sigh, before mumbling:

"I...I have to think about it."

"When you have made up your mind, then go to this address and ask the shop assistant if he could show you the more special products and mention that 'Marcus' told you that they had the best assortment in the whole district," he murmured while he was writing down something on a napkin and then handing it to her. She hesitantly took it and stuffed it into her pocket. She didn't want to go down that path. But then again, she wasn't _really_ doing drugs, she would just...buy her medications from a drug dealer, reluctantly. Nobody could judge her for that now, could they? Jonah certainly didn't. The government practically forced her to do it, what other choice did she have? She didn't have to feel bad or guilty, it was not her fault. And she would stop as soon as the D.U.P. was gone and the drugstores supplied decently again. This was her last alternative, the last way out of her dilemma, and she wouldn't just ignore it.

"Thank you, Jonah," she whispered, her voice so faint that he almost didn't hear it. But he did, and a small smile crept up his face.

"Don't mention it! And I mean that literally, or the cops are going to pay us both a visit. And then they'd find all those dead bodies for decoration in my living room, and that would really ruin my day." He winked at the blond woman and his smile grew into a wide grin. The tension from before was gone immediately, replaced by an easiness she usually felt when she talked to him, even if it had taken her some time getting used to his certain kind of humor.

"Just how stupid do you think I am?"

"You once glued your hands on a wig you were making. This should answer your question."

"That can happen to everyone who works in our branch!"

"You don't need glue to knot a wig."

* * *

'Maybe,' Delsin thought,'Maybe I should have thought that through.' Even though he would never admit it, he overestimated himself a little bit this time. He would defeat them all -he absolutely would- provided that he would find some smoke to actually get the job done, but right now, he was avoiding those gun-wielding guys, by running. **Not** fleeing, just running into a direction where these seven soldiers wouldn't follow him or get him until he could find some smoke to charge his powers. The problem: there was no stack with the gray clouds around that he needed so desperately right now. He _really_ should have thought that plan through, but the thought of playing a prank call to that woman on the D.U.P. help line had been so appealing, he didn't want to keep her waiting. The reaction when he had asked her what she was wearing had been totally worth the trouble he had to deal with now. But he could laugh about it later, now he had to get to a rooftop ASAP. Climbing would take too long, the dupes would shoot him in the back. But there were more ways to get to a roof than climbing, especially when you were a conduit. All he needed was the vent on that building over there. Without hesitation he ran straight into the round vent, and just a couple of seconds later, Delsin found himself on top of the same building.

He had almost completely freed the Belltown-district, the only thing that was left to do was to win this final fight right now. Then, people could move freely again, without constant surveillance and they would have one more reason to praise him as the hero of Seattle. And maybe, they would stop calling him 'Banner Man'. And maybe the other conduits would reveal themselves to him, then he wouldn't have to search in every corner for them, because that was not just plain boring, but also incredibly frustrating after some time. That conduit that should be hiding somewhere in this district was either a phantom, incredibly good at avoiding people (including him and the D.U.P.) or didn't exist. It was like his brother had told him, the surveillance cameras would constantly ring the alarm, the drones flying around the area weren't doing a better job and the dupes had been patrolling more often. He had been trying to catch the conduit while the cameras were detecting high conduit activity, but there was just no person who was in line to be a possible conduit, not to mention that it was pretty hard to watch so many people at the same time. So he had waited nearby a surveillance camera until it had set off the alarm, making sure it was not because of him, but to no avail, he just couldn't find him/her. And Reggie had no track on the other conduits yet. Delsin had to get stronger in order to defeat Augustine though, in order to help his people back home, in order to help Betty.

"Come on, I just need a bit smoke."

He searched the nearby area, no smoke coming from the stacks nearby, not a single trail of those gray cl...**There! **It wasn't much, just a faint trail coming from a stack on top of a cafe, but it was better than nothing and definitely enough to send those yellow morons back to sleep. There weren't many civilians around the place either, just two couples sipping their drinks in the afternoon sun and a guy typing something on his laptop. The all too familiar sounds of gunshots suddenly filled the air again, a clear sign for Delsin to get moving. And he didn't waste any time and dashed to the rooftop of the cafe. The surprised screams of the people far below on the ground didn't matter right now. He had gotten used to them pretty fast, and as a result, didn't pay them much attention anymore. He put out his hand and almost automatically the grayish black cloud seemed to flow to his hands, into his body and felt how his power was returning to him. It still felt a bit weird, but for Delsin, it was a feeling he connected with joy and anticipation.

All the remaining soldiers who had followed him up to this cafe were all standing on the street, blocking the traffic, pointing their gun barrels up in the air in his direction. The civilians who had been sipping their coffee peacefully only seconds ago were cowering on the ground, fearing for their lives. One man tried to crawl away from the scenery, but the others remained. He couldn't do a 'comet drop' now, he would hurt or probably kill these innocent persons, something he didn't want to be responsible for. He decided that shooting them from up here with his smoke shots would also do the job, it would of course be less epic, but better than killing civilians. Unfortunately, his enemies didn't just hold still, but quickly built small walls of concrete, thick enough to block all his attacks from above and just high enough so they could hide behind them.

'Time to keep them some company down there.'

And with that thought in mind he jumped down, without releasing an attack that would burn any normal human being in one instant, ignoring the surprised screams of the civilians, either fearing for his safety or fearing him himself.

The soldiers quickly left their hiding spot, their weapons ready to shoot him, but before the first could even fire, he was knocked out by a strike of a reddish glowing chain. The D.U.P. soldier was not killed, but he certainly wasn't in any condition to fight anymore either, and the second one followed soon, before the remaining five were able to shoot at him. Delsin swirled around and rose his arm, quickly firing smoke and ember at his enemies, targeting their heads while staying in motion so it would be harder for them to hit him with their bullets. They missed him almost every time, unfortunately though, so did he, but while they were backing off of him, he was approaching them. They were scattering, and trying to overpower him with their weak concrete powers, but he dodged and they missed him. He quickly dashed to the nearest soldier and knocked him out like he did it with the first two. But he had to retreat again, he was too close to the remaining four soldiers who now were able to hit him with their bullets and their concrete. The four soldiers were regrouping, shouting instructions at each other and trying to make a new plan. They were planning to surround him trying to get him into a crossfire.

"You know, maybe you should try to tell each other your plans _without _me noticing. Just sayin',"

Delsin shouted, mocking them with his words. The answer came promptly: they fired again.

"You should learn to take criticism!"

Apparently their plan to surround him was discarded, because they stood all at one place. He didn't think twice as he gathered enough energy in his right hand to fire a cinder missile to end this battle quickly. But Delsin had forgotten that there still had been civilians cowering under tables, too afraid to crawl away. And five of those were cowering behind the yellow soldiers, three men and two women, who had just came to this place to enjoy the afternoon-sun while sipping a good coffee. He realized too late that they were in the line of fire, in the range of the cinder missile. The D.U.P.-soldiers would certainly survive the attack, they were protected by thick, yellow armor, but the others, they could easily die if they were hit by such a missile without any protection. But Delsin realized that too late.

Time seemed to slow down as he saw the missile colliding with the first soldier, throwing him off his feet, sending him flying into the yellow armored man behind him. The heat burned the third and the blast wave knocked the fourth out. But the missile was strong, burning through his enemies like they were made out of butter, getting past them with almost as much power as when he had fired it, now approaching the civilians and Delsin couldn't do a thing against it. And although it seemed that time had slowed down, what happened next was too fast for him to comprehend at first. The concentrated smoke and burning ember clashed with a flash of white, blocking the heat and the force of the blow entirely. Baffled, he stared at the daggers, thorns and stings, all sprawled chaotically over the place, but still ordered in a way that built a wall to protect the persons behind them, one of them who had created the wall.

Delsin was about to comment the incident that had happened before his eyes, but a loud exclamation from a young man, also behind the wall of ice and frost let him hold his words for a moment:

"What the fuck?! Ella! You are a _bioterrorist_?"

Delsin still stood there, mouth slightly agape. Being honest, he had given up the thought of finding the conduit who had hoaxed the D.U.P. in Belltown (and him), but finding her here, completely by accident was just…He was luckiest conduit in Seattle (not that there were so many). But he still didn't know how she looked like yet, but now he at least knew her name: Ella. He slowly approached the wall, surrounded it and had to duck as white splitters of ice flied just past his ear:

"Whoa! Slow down, we're on the same side! I just want to talk!"

'And maybe I want some of your powers.'

But the girl had already turned her back to him and ran off down the street, intent on leaving everything and everyone behind as they were right now.

Delsin cursed under his breath, immediately chasing after her, ignoring the shouts and screams of the people who had seen the spectacle (again). She was fast, turning into a flash of ice and frost to get away from him, but he was faster. But what he didn't expect her to do was to turn around in a fluid motion and to throw some more ice at him. He reacted quickly, melting the small daggers and splitters she had thrown at him and gained some more speed. His attempts to persuade her to stop weren't helping at all (not that he would give up trying), and if she wouldn't listen by herself, then he would make her. She tried some more times to hit him, and each blow of her was getting stronger, so strong that he couldn't melt it anymore, he had to duck. He had almost reached her when she turned around again, but this time she wasn't aiming for him directly. This time her shot hit the street before his feet, and the cold was spreading fast around the spot where her shot had come into contact with the gray concrete. Faster than Delsin could react he ran right on the ice spreading on the floor and as soon as he stepped onto it the cold, frozen water crawled up his feet, over his ankles to his knees, immobilizing him.

'Great. Another woman who wants to see me in shackles.' he thought.

The only difference between these shackles and Augustines was that ice could easily be melted with smoke. That small amount of snow wouldn't hold him off very long, he would catch up to her and then they would have a nice, long talk, provided that she would stop running away from him. Hastily, he shot at the shackles with smoke but when he was finally freed from the ice on his feet, she was already gone. When he realized that he had lost sight of her, he tried to find her again, but she was gone. She had escaped and he had only learned two things of her: she was a conduit with ice abilities named Ella.

* * *

Time to call Reggie.

Jävlar – fuck

Jävla skit – shit/crap

dumma -stupid


	3. Chapter 3

**First of all, I'd like to apologize for the long wait. It is my responsibility to update regularly and this time I really failed you guys. **

**Now, all I can do is to update more frequently or inform you, should I take a longer with another chapter. **

**In the future, I will try to make it better, but until then, enjoy this (rather late) chapter :)**

**Once again, feel free to correct my mistakes or to scold me for my rather impolite behaviour**

* * *

Being honest, Delsin was a bit disappointed in the powers of the princess with the ice shackles. He had been fantasizing about her abilities, imagining what kind of power would enable somebody to set off the alarms without actually being seen. He had had some sort of invisibility-power in mind, going through solid objects, body-shifting, technology-controlling powers, heck, even parallel dimension -thingy jumps or something along those lines had crossed his mind, but not the power to turn into a freezer. He didn't even understand how that could affect the security-equipment in a way he had witnessed, there just was no connection.

In comparison to that, ice-powers were kind of lame. He started to believe that she wasn't even responsible for the failing D.U.P-equipment.

But of course, he still wanted to throw ice-daggers himself. After all, they could come in handy in various situations, and it was better than nothing. Not to mention that he yet had to defeat the concrete-queen, and that wouldn't be an easy thing to do. Thus everything that could help him in any way possible wouldn't be wasted. And not to mention that ice-powers would be his salvation during hot summer days. With his creative mastermind which many people seemed to lack these days, even 'normal' ice-powers would give him endless opportunities, regardless of the situation he would be in.

Yet, he had to gain the freezer-ability first. But in order to get her ability, he had to find her...again. And he didn't look forward to do that. That had been a pain in the ass the first time, but his hopes could not be crushed. Because this time, it was a little bit different. He had a name and he knew what she looked like. It wasn't much, but more than he had had in the beginning. Surely his brother would be able to make use of the information. And he could investigate at the café, look after that one guy who had obviously known the freezer. He would find a way, he always did. He was a genius, after all.

After he fumbled his phone out of his pocket again, he looked at the display, just about to call Reggie, when the phone suddenly vibrated in his hands: An incoming call from his brother. 'Perfect timing' he thought, before answering the call. But once again he couldn't say anything as his brother's voice cut him short:

"Delsin, are you okay? What just happened? The Police Department is getting tons of phone calls, most of them saying that there are two bio-terrorists fighting each other out in the open in Bell-Town..."

Before his brother could add anything and fall into an seemingly endless lecture and rambling for hours, Delsin interrupted him quickly, trying to explain the situation without Reggie getting upset:

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking. I just wanted to tell you about that, you know? Because I got some good news and then I got some bad news I'll have to tell you about. Which one do you wanna hear first?"

"Delsin, this is getting really dangerous, you are in serious trouble now. The D.U.P. Has announced to double their forces because of your 'small' performance!"

Delsin ignored his brother's rambling once again:

"Alright, so the good news first, got it. I found the conduit in Belltown, although I'm not sure if she's the one responsible for all those convenient technical failures. I got her first name. It's not much, but I'm sure with your magical all-knowing data-base you can find out more, right?"

He made a pause, waiting for his brother's reaction. To his disappointment, Reggie plainly asked what the bad news were. After all _he_ went through a lot of trouble in order to find that conduit, and his reward for his hard work wasn't just the in future rising number of yellow dupes trying to snuff him out, but also the missing reaction of joy and praise from his brother. And he also knew that that what would be coming next wouldn't cheer up his brother's mood either, they both knew.

"Yeah, the bad news are" he paused, thinking of a way to talk himself out of this situation smoothly. When he had formed a sentence that hopefully wouldn't anger Reggie unnecessarily, he forgot it completely and improvised instead:

"I kind of...accidentally...lost track of her while she was trying to turn me into an iceberg."

'Yep, very smooth, Delsin' he told himself and could already imagine his brother's reaction.

For a short time, Delsin heard nothing, which either meant that Reggie was annoyed and angry or in thought. He closed his eyes, pleading silently for the latter, but also bracing himself for a scolding speech from his brother, or in that case, oh so beloved favourite sheriff.

"Well, not much to work with, but that's better than nothing. I'm just glad that you're okay. And maybe, if we really are lucky, she might have a criminal record. Although I doubt it."

Delsin waited a second, still waiting for some sort of scolding for letting a 'dangerous bioterrorist' escape and terrorize the streets of Seattle. But his brother said nothing alike. He was kind of touched by his brother's concern, even though this time, it had been a little bit misplaced. He didn't think that the girl would have killed him had she gotten the chance. Nah, she had not been a real threat to him or the civilians around her. But of course, his brother couldn't have known this.

"Hey, you know me. I can't be bothered by a little bit of snow and ice. But your concern really touches me."

"Yeah, worrying for your little brother is very funny, ha ha."

"Oh, you know I love you too. Anyway one guy called her Ella. She's a blonde woman about my age if that helps. But as much as I like talking to you, I have some research to do too. I'll call you again when I find something."

As he tucked his cellphone in his pocket, he turned around to head into the right direction, to look into various direction, like a lost puppy trying to find it's owner.

"In which direction was that café again?"

* * *

That had been close. Way too close. She did not know who that guy had been for certain, but she would bet her sorry ass that it had been that 'Bannerman'. No matter how much Jonah had fallen in love with that supposed 'hero' to the point he was almost worshipping him, she would happily stay away from him. For the rest of her life. Maybe even in afterlife, if such a thing existed.

She had been freaked out for what seemed like hours, shaking uncontrollably, crying and mumbling to herself. Some passer-bys had stopped and asked her what was wrong with her, if she needed help, but she had shaken them off successfully, making up some lame or even completely senseless excuses for her behaviour. She had already seen her end coming, thousands of possibilities:

How they would capture or kill her, how she would never witness a day in freedom again, How she would never see any of her loved ones again, ever. But after the first shock from being busted had passed, she had managed to calm down eventually. Her breath had evened, her tears had stopped flowing freely over her red cheeks and she had finally paid more attention to her surroundings.

Now she was sitting in a dark alley, hidden enough so that curious eyes would not see her, but still close enough should anyone get the idea of threatening her. Dark alleys were not known for their safety, and there had been many more shady figures bargaining dubious deals since the lock down.

Who knew, maybe her pursuer would show up again, then she would need an escape plan, maybe even two or three...or dozens. He would not catch her off-guard a second time. She did not care if she was getting paranoid, in these situations paranoia was your best friend. It kept her safe, kept her powers safe, hidden away. But not this time. This time she had been too surprised, overwhelmed, she had been cornered. And now, getting out of this whole situation unharmed and freely seemed more and more unlikely with every minute. What was her situation anyway?

_'Let's see. We are in the middle of a D.U.P. Lock down with no discrete means of escape. You blew your almost perfect cover because of one stupid incident and now _everyone_ knows you exist which means you have to lay even lower than usual for...let's say forever, just to be sure. In addition to that, some rogue conduit is on your tail as well for reasons you probably don't even want to know. Did I miss something? Oh yes, you've run out of your most sacred stuff and now the only possibility is to go have a happy time with some drug dealers. And to top it all off, the only person who could have been your saving grace is probably scared shitless and won't talk to you again. Like ever.'_

At the thought of Jonah, she felt a wave of sadness wash through her, mixed with disappointment. Sure, they had not been best friends or anything, and sooner or later she would have cut off contact with him entirely, leaving him and the city behind. It had been this procedure for years, but she really had hoped to part with him on good terms and not just because it was always an advantage to have some conncetions all over the country. Sadly, that was out of the question now. He had been the only one who had been somewhat there for her, and not only was he now scared of her, but maybe also involved in that whole situation. After all, he had been seen with a criminal in public, so he had to be involved with this kind of people, right? He would get a probably not so nice visit from D.U.P. Agents soon enough. Heck, maybe even that Bannerdude would be looking for him. Poor Jonah, he did not deserve this.

But what should she do? She could not call him or anything, establishing more contact with him would only strengthen any suspicions. And she did not believe that he wanted to hear from her ever again. And as much as she liked Jonah, she would not take any risks of being found and captured. She would stay away from him, it was safer for both parties. At least, that's what she told herself and what she hoped would be the result of this course of action. She would stay alone, it was not like she wasn't used to it.

So what did she do next? Go back to her flat? Seemed logical, she had nowhere else to go. And as long as Jonah did not report her, neither the D.U.P. nor the police or that rogue conduit could identify her and head to her place so quickly. If she acted fast enough, she could still gather some things from there. It would make her now even more complicated life a little bit easier. She could not sit in that corner for ever. Well, maybe she could, but she'd rather avoid that scenario. Especially when it was getting darker with every minute. How late was it anyway?

She searched for her phone, the only source she used for keeping track of time, only to realize that it was not in any of her pockets. A little shock surged through her body. Where did she put it? She jumped to her feet immediately, feeling frantically for her cellphone in all her pockets and probably looking like a drunk lunatic in the process. But she did not feel it, it was gone.

"Skit!"

She couldn't have possibly lost it during her small chase, could she? She tried to remember when she had had it the last time.

"Come on, think, you moron! Where did you put it, Ell...Jävlar*!"

It dawned on her.

_'You're in my glorious presence, Ella, so put that thing away.'_

She had put it into her bag when Jonah had loudly complained about the device's presence during their little chat. And where was the bag now? Most likely left behind at the café. She swore some more in Swedish, cursing the world, that stupid moron of a conduit and basically the whole D.U.P..

The situation did not get better by any means, it seemed. The phone had been an awful loss already, but upon realization that she had left her whole bag with precious and -more importantly- private information behind she felt the need to cry out in frustration and exasperation.

But she refused to give in to that growing sentiment of desperation. Neither would she give in to that boiling anger inside of her that demanded her to find the one person responsible for her personal misery and turn him into a human-sized popsicle. How ironic that would be, a conduit with the power of smoke, tinder and fire ending as ice-sculpture; She couldn't suppress a sarcastic grin at that thought. But that was also out of the question. She would not waste time and patience on that guy, he wasn't worth it right now, not to mention that she would have to go find him which wasn't number one on her to-do-list either.

So her bag was probably lost too, in addition to that, the people working at the café would recognize her, so there was no point in searching for it. They would only call the police or worse, the D.U.P.. But her bag had her key ring stored as well. And as smart as she was, she figured out that her key to the flat was in there as well. But it was no problem, there were more ways than the one intended to get into a flat. And with her powers, she would have no problems getting in anyway. She hoped.

"Yep. Not a masterplan, but what else am I gonna do?"

She was not fond of the idea, the thought of breaking into a flat, even if it was her own made her very uneasy.

With slow and heavy steps, she dragged her feet over the ground, heading for her place and thinking on how to approach this break-in. This was one of the most shittiest days ever.

"Tack så mycket, Bannerman.*"

* * *

After running through the streets of Seattle helplessly for what had seemed like an eternity, Delsin had finally been successful. The afternoon sun was shining brightly now and casting it's rays down on him and the building he had looked for the whole time. There it was, that little café where his 'harsh and exhausting search' for the ominous conduit had paid off, more or less. And he really hoped that it would lead to success again. He just needed to look around a bit, ask the people if they actually knew the girl or her shouting buddy. Maybe he could also get himself a coffee or something small to eat while he was at it, a filled stomach couldn't hurt his investigations.

Some people recognized him and cheered for him, but most of the citizens just walked their way, glancing his way occasionally before continuing to ignore him. But except for those very few people that fled into some other direction upon seeing him, none of them seemed to be terrified anymore or afraid of walking outside in the open again. And that was his doing. He had freed this district from Augustine's stone-hard grasp so everyone could enjoy their newly regained freedom, as it should be. He could not and would not deny that he was indeed proud of his handiwork. Who else could say that they had fought against a whole army of dangerous concrete-controlling soldiers all by themselves to not only protect the citizens, but also to save a whole tribe from dying and to overthrow the organization of a crazy madwoman trying to stay in control over the whole world...

Okay, maybe he wasn't all alone, he still had Reg, and the dupes really weren't that dangerous, and their powers were only borrowed and kind of lame in comparison to his glorious might, and maybe Augustine did not try to control the whole world but just Seattle and all the conduits -which really wasn't that much better- and maybe he wasn't really done achieving all those feats yet, but those were only small details. It was still undeniable that what he had accomplished in such a short time was indeed remarkable. And he wouldn't stop now. Yet his enemy was still too strong for him as he was right now, as painful it was to admit. And he needed more than just some and ashes to bring Augustine down. But he was on his way to get a small frosty boost-up in his powers soon. And maybe, who knows, a loyal follower who could help him in his task. After all, Delsin thought himself as a rather persuasive person. And how cool would it be to have a faithful minion who could freeze his enemies with one sweeping motion of her hand?

As he crossed the street and passed through the first lines of tables outside he noticed some cops asking some people questions about the incident that had happened here. At least they were not from the D.U.P..

_'Okay Delsin, just act completely normal. It's not the first time you deluded a cop. You have deluded Reg before, wasn't that hard. They probably won't even bother you. You are completely innocent. Just an innocent citizen going to a __café to get some coffee. Chill.'_

A person questioned by the officer glanced at him, the man's eyes widening slightly as he looked directly into Delsins' eyes. Did he recognize him? He prayed that this was not the case, but the man's eyes and body language told him otherwise.

_'Oh please, don't get me into trouble. Reg's gonna kill me if I have to beat up some cops.'_

As the officer demanded the man's attention again, Delsin was ready to dash out of this situation at any given moment, but as the man went on with telling the cop his statement, the man of the law did not turn. In fact, he didn't do anything but listen to that dude. Some more seconds of discrete intent watching and Delsin was sure that the officer would probably not turn around any moment now and aim his gun at him.

He wasn't sure if the man had kept his mouth shut because he admired or feared him and at the moment he did not really care, although deep down he hoped it would be because of the former assumption. He turned away, focusing his attention on his surroundings again, but never leaving the cops out of sight. He wanted to leave this scene as soon as possible.

The wall of ice was still there, cooling the air around it and shining in such a bright white that it took him some time to make out the details on the wall. It seemed that it had not dwindled since she had created it, standing as tall and solid as before. The small puddle of water on the ground told him otherwise, yet it was by far not as quickly melting as normal ice would have. The front had taken some heavy damage, some of the crystal-like ice shards molten off completely. But the force of his missile had not been enough to actually burst through the wall, leaving everything behind it undamaged. On one hand, he was of course relieved that it had prevented a major accident, on the other hand a small part of him, -namely his ego- was slightly scratched. But it was washed away by the anticipation of getting this power himself. Once again, the possibilities that flooded his mind were endless.

He passed the wall, looking behind it to search for any clues and maybe asking some of the waiters who were trying to clear the mess he had created with the refrigerators identity. He scanned the empty tables and chairs, some of them flipped and sprawled chaotically on the floor, others standing as if nothing had ever happened. A small brownish bundle near a flipped chair caught his attention. It seemed abandoned and neither the waiters nor any other person had yet bothered to retrieve it. And it was in close proximity to the ice-wall, suspiciously close. If that was refrigerator's bag, then he would be the luckiest conduit in Seattle once again. If it was not the right bag, he was just a creepy guy looking into stranger's bags for no reason at all.

Casually he stepped near the abandoned bag and grabbed it. None of the cops or waiters noticed, no one complained and he would just take a preak into it. It somehow felt wrong to roam through some stranger's personal content, but chances were high that this really belonged to the conduit he was looking for. He just needed confirmation that this really was her bag, if not, he would just leave it there and look around some more as if he had never touched it. If it was hers, he would leave with it. The police wasn't really the best company he wanted to be with right now...or ever.

First thing he found was some sort of calender, a set of keys, a cellphone and a wallet. He just needed a picture or a name, then he could get out of here.

_'Come on, gimme something. This is starting to look really creepy...Bingo!'_

In the wallet, there it was, an ID-card with a blonde woman looking with an awkward frown into the camera. _Isabella Smith_ looked rather familiar to Delsin.

"Jackpot!"

He put the wallet back and left without the cops or anyone else noticing that he had been there at all. At least he thought that no one had noticed his sudden absence.

_'I _am_ a criminal mastermind.'_

* * *

As he sat on top of a roof of one of the surrounding buildings, he rummaged through her things. Usually he respected peoples' privacy, not to mention that he could think of at least a thousand things he'd rather do than search through a stranger's personal belongings, but this was an exception and not for the purpose of being a creep. Didn't make it feel any less wrong though.

"Delsin, you're not a freak. This all serves for a greater purpose."

He shortly hesitated, thinking about his words.

"Yeah, that did not sound concerning at all. Betty would get furious if she found out."

But before he could start his search, something vibrated in his pocket. Once again, it was his phone informing him of an incoming phone call.

_'Please let it not be Betty.'_

To his relief, it was Reggie. A relieved sigh escaped Delsin's lips.

"Seriously Reg, do you have some sort of tracker on me that tells you when I make any progress or what?"

"No, just my sharp instincts as a sheriff."

"There is no such thing as 'instincts of a sheriff'."

"You'll probably never know anyway. So you found something? Because there is no criminal record of an 'Ella' which would fit your description in any way."

"Yeah, apparently her full name is Isabella Smith, but I bet twenty bucks that this is just some fake identity. I mean, come on, _Smith_? That just screams fake identity."

His brother interrupted him once again before Delsin could could reveal more. Curiosity mixed with rising suspicion filled his next words:

"How did you get that information? Did you ask the people there if they knew her or what?"

"From her ID-card...which I found in her wallet. Which was in her bag...which I took when revisiting the place."

To say that his brother was not amused could be considered as a perfect description.

"Delsin, are you out of your mind?! Do you know what you have done?!You just took crucial evidence from a crime scene! You just have interfered with a police investigation, okay?! Not to mention that you invaded a person's privacy. That's...That's illegal. What were you thinking!"

Delsin just rolled his eyes, annoyance clearly written all over his face. Reggie was overreacting, again. If he hadn't noticed, throwing smoke at D.U.P. 'staff' wasn't all that legal either, or destroying D.U.P. property. He wouldn't just sit there and take all the blame. Not that he thought that he had done anything major wrong in particular. In this case, he really believed that the end justified the means.

"Hey, listen! Do you think that it would do me any favours if the police was on her trail as well? I need to find her, okay, I _need_ her power. How else do you think I'm gonna defeat Augustine? Trying to convince her that I've always been a good boy and never broke the law at all? Sure, that's going to work after I beat half of her minions into oblivion!"

Of course, Reggie wasn't nearly as convinced or calmed as his brother had hoped.

"We don't even know if you even have to face her at all! And I hope you won't because I wouldn't look forward to that."

Anger boiled up within Delsin's chest. What was his brother even suggesting? Did he think he would let Augustine go without paying for what she had done to their people? Or that she would just happily give him his concrete-powers as if everything was okay between them? As weird as it sounded for Delsin to say to his brother but he -his more reasonable and realistic brother- had to face the truth!

"You think I'll let her go after what she did with the tribe? After what she has done to the city? To the people living here? Or do you believe she'll just shake my hand and give me her powers because she had a change of heart?"

"Look, we don't even know if you even can absorb her powers."

"At least I have to try! Or should we just return to the tribe, tell them 'Sorry guys, we thought about it, but we weren't so sure, so now it looks like you're just going to die anyway. But hey, at least Delsin didn't get into any trouble.'"

The heavy silence that followed made Delsin tense. It gave him time to rethink his words. Maybe that last part had been a little too much, but it didn't make it any less true. It wasn't just about him, couldn't Reggie see that?

"Look, Reg. I need to do that, think about our people back home. Think about Betty! I can't just return until I am sure that I tried everything in my power!"

Again, silence. Was his brother even on the line? Was he still listening?

"Reg?"

He heard an exasperated sigh, before his brother's reluctant sounding voice rang through the phone again:

"Okay, but just to make things clear: I still don't approve of any of all this."

Delsin tension left his body immediately, and exhaled the breath he had been holding:

"Thank you."

"Just tell me what's in the bag."

"Hey, just you know, I don't like this either, okay. Going through stranger's things."

"Delsin!"

That had been enough of a warning, pushing his brother right now did not seem like a good idea:

"Okay, so we have her wallet. Not much in there, just some cash, some receipts, an employee card for some sort of studio and her ID-card. Then we have her phone with multiple missed calls and text messages from a dude called Jonah. Unfortunately, it's locked and I couldn't figure out the code yet. Next thing are a bunch of keys, a calender, but I haven't really looked into that yet. That's about it."

His brother was quiet again, but this time Delsin assumed that Reg was thinking about how any of this would bring them any further. It didn't take him very long to come up with an answer:

"That doesn't match up. Are you sure you got the right bag?"

Delsin was slightly confused. He was positive that this was the refrigerator's bag and _her_ on the picture. Not to mention that Reg had neither seen the bag's content nor the conduit herself. Those were her things, so why did his brother have his doubts?

"Why would you think that?"

"Delsin, just think about it. The accident happened about a week ago. And those bioterrorists"

Delsin snorted displeased as his brother used that word, but his brother went on, unfazed by his reaction:

"have all probably been in Curdun Cay for who knows how long. How could a stranger without anything get a job, a fake ID-card and a flat? That's what I assume at least one of the keys is for. That girl would have to either be a genius or have some real trustworthy connections. Or -and I actually don't like this idea very much- she..."

Delsin knew what his brother was implying.

"She isn't one of the three who escaped in that crash. That, or I stole an innocent woman's belongings."

This made the fridge a lot more interesting, and possibly more dangerous as well. But mostly more interesting. Now he wanted to find and face her even more.

"Hey, Reg, if one of those keys really is for a flat or apartment, then she surely has written it down somewhere in here."

"You got her keys, how could she get back in without them? And I don't think that you'll find her there."

"First of all, back home, I found several ways back into our home when I had locked myself out and secondly, it's all we got right now, so it's worth a try. Just you wait a second."

He looked through the calender, not without noticing that she had scribbled her appointments down there in some foreign language with different, but not completely unrecognizable letters. He couldn't tell what those words meant.

"Man, I don't know which language this is, but it sure as hell isn't English."

"So she could have an immigrant backround?"

"I can't think of so many other reasons for writing your appointments in another language."

Not a single one in Eng...hah, on the very first page. Name, address, e-mail etc. all in more or less readable English. Someone really had an awful handwriting.

"I got it. And it's actually not that far away from here, if I read this correctly!"

"Delsin, be careful. If she is even there then cornering her in her own four walls could cause her to freak out and we don't know what she is able to do. Tell me the address, I'll come with you."

"I don't know Reg. I don't want you to get in danger."

At that comment Reggie just laughed:

"_You_ don't want _me_ getting into trouble?"

"Reg, this is something between conduit and conduit. To her, you could just be some other cop who'll hand her over."

"Yes, _or_ she could attack you on sight regardless if you are a conduit or not."

"Sorry Reggie, but this is between conduit and conduit."

And with that, he hung up. His brother was pissed off right now. He could almost feel the anger his brother was now probably directing at him, but it was safer this way. As much as he loved and trusted him, he would just screw things up when it came to talking with conduits. He did not understand, and he never could, because after all, he wasn't one of them.

* * *

As Ella ascended the stairs to her floor, she thought about what she would take with her and what not. Probably some clothes and the remaining cash she had stored in her secret hiding place. She was considering if she should take her laptop as well, but wasn't too sure if that really was a good idea. If she was unlucky, she would have to carry her stuff around for quite some time without any form of shelter. If she just had her wallet or at least her cellphone, then things would have been way more easier. But no, those things were probably lost forever. Once again she cursed the Bannerman under her breath. As she reached her floor, she immediately headed for the third door. She already had schemed out how she would get in. She would try to fumble with the lock or the hinges, heck, if that would not help she would just freeze and burst through the whole damn door. This was an emergency and she did not care if her neighbours or landlords would call the police, she would be gone either way.

But as she grabbed the door handle she noticed that it had been unlocked.

_'Have I forgotten to lock it when I left this morning?'_

No, she was sure she had sealed the door properly, like everyday. But then how did...someone had found the bag. A chill went down her spine, her heart skipped a beat and her throat went dry. Who would it be? A random stranger? The police? The D.U.P? Or even worse, the moron responsible for everything?

Should she run or face the intruder? Take the risk or run away? Her instincts and common sense clearly screamed at her to get away from there asap, yet her mind reminded her that all she had right now was what she had with her, and that was, in short, nothing. But she needed some of those things in there, especially money. And if they had come in there with seemingly no violence, then maybe they had her bag with them as well. She also wasn't defenceless and fighting in closed space could turn into an advantage for her.

She gripped the door handle harder and summoned her powers, getting them ready for the worst case. As she drew in a deep breath to gather her senses, she watched as her hands became paler and paler with every second and small glistening ice crystals swirling around lazily around her hands and arms. The handle started freezing over as well, the cold spreading fast. She slowly exhaled and opened the door as quiet as possible and slowly stepped into her flat, looking out for the intruder who had dared breaking into her flat.

* * *

Skit - Scheiße

Jävlar - Damn it

Tack så mycket - Thank you very much

* * *

**Dimension Distorter:**

First of all, thank you for your review. And to answer your question, I thought that he can't get out of those because he was in contact with the ice/concrete in his physical form, which also restrain him in and are attached on him. So if he's restrained in his 'normal form' then it's probably rather difficult to change/smoke dash out of it without taking the shackles with him. And is that at the end a Star Wars reference? :D

**Savage Kill:**

Also, thank you for reviewing and...better updating late than never...(please don't kill me)

About the pills, if I actually manage for one time to update 'regularly' (whatever that means) then you will see soon enough. And with a Mary-Sue I do not just mean the 'damsel in distress'-type, but also the 'overpowered','from everyone loved' and/or 'all-knowing/perfect'-type of Mary-Sue. Because believe me, I have no bigger fear than creating one of those.

**Anna(guest):**

Again, thank you for reviewing. And now that you mention it, they really have a lot in common. It wasn't intentional as far as I can tell, but I can't deny the similarities between them. Maybe it was a subconscious thing or something along those lines...

**Alicedor:**

Thank you for correcting those words. I actually cannot speak Swedish myself, but I thought that it would fit better to her whole character concept than the country I am from. So I am happy about any corrections, Thank you :)

**KenzieFF:**

Once again, thank you for reviewing and for pointing out the grammar mistakes, I'll see through the chapter one more time and try to fix them :) I am relieved to hear that Ella has not yet evolved into a Mary-Sue and I intend to keep it that way. Just hope that I'll stay true to my words. And I'll come to the pills eventually (if I actually manage to update properly, 'cause that actually shouldn't be that hard).

**Also thank all of you for reviewing as well:**

_**hailrose1999, mj (guest), White-Horns, xMissEmilyx, Ella(guest), Angel Slayer(guest), lol(guest), Shadowman-DDT, Power Dude(guest), inFAMOUS Fan(guest), DaEpicNinja, alicesmartt13, LucidWriter and Master Ezeezy.**_

**You guys are amazing. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter (which hopefully won't take as long as this one).**


	4. Chapter 4

Saying that Reggie was angry was a wrong assumption: he was furious. They had agreed to do this together, as brothers. But once again Delsin had decided to follow his own lead and get himself into more trouble, making his own life all the more harder. He didn't even know why they were doing this, it was not like they had agreed to hunt down every bioterrorist they'd cross paths with. Reg would have never supported that. He had hardly agreed with the original plan and still was desperately searching for other ways to solve their problems back home. But of course Delsin had to go play the hero, expecting praise and acceptance wherever he would show up, leaving Reggie behind and ignoring his advice and warnings effectively.

But he wasn't as angry at Delsin as he was afraid. He had seen what a bioterrorist could do, and every time Delsin charged into trouble head first, Reggie just remembered what someone with those powers could do to him, to everyone. He would think of the day that truck had crashed before the long house, when one of them had used Delsin as a shield to protect himself from Reggie, when said conduit had burned down the warehouse with Betty still inside. And the image of the long house filled with almost the whole tribe, disfigured and handicapped by gruesome shards of concrete growing out of various body parts would flash before his eyes. And not even Delsin with his new found powers had been an exception, laying there unconscious even longer than most of the others. Maybe his little brother had forgotten that he still was vulnerable, but Reggie had not. He would look for his brother's back, because Delsin would most certainly not, even if he claimed otherwise.

But it was a difficult task to just do that when said person just ran off alone, leaving him behind to figure out on his own where his smoking ass would stir up trouble next. By now Reggie knew his way around, using his brain -which, if he was being quite honest, Delsin sometimes seemed to lack entirely- and every advantage he got from his job as sheriff. Delsin may have not told him the correct address, but a full name nonetheless. From there it had been easy to figure out where to go to aid his brother, but not before beating some sense into that hollow skull of his. As he approached the right apartment block, he just hoped that he had arrived in time.

* * *

Immediately after opening the door a crack wide open as quietly as possible she heard a male stern voice talking about some sort of crime. Tensing up for a second, she focused on the oddly familiar voice, trying to find the matching face and listening for more information. When realization dawned upon her, she felt slightly relieved but also annoyed and silently cursed her own moment of stupidity. The voice belonged to a newsreader of the one newscast she always watched. And as long as that guy had not decided to intrude her home personally she was fairly certain someone else than her had turned on her television and watched the news. In _her_ living room. On _her_ crappy TV. It took all her will power to not just burst through that door and turn whoever it was into a nice and _fragile_ ice sculpture which could shatter so easily. Yet she would do better without a confrontation, as she did not even know how many there were in total, if they were still there at all. Who knows, maybe they had already left and just forgotten to turn off the T.V.?

Ever so slowly she opened the door just enough to slip through the gap, closing it as soundlessly as she had opened it. The flat was in complete darkness, the TV the only source of light. And there she saw _him_, sitting on her couch completely relaxed, his back facing the door and watching the news. The dude who had almost shot her, revealed her identity to the world and pursued her through the streets of Seattle as if she'd been an escaped chicken, that _Bannerman. _She could have shot him right there and then, not really caring for the reason he had decided to show up at all if he just sat there to watch the news and disregarding anything else entirely. But chances were that he was more alert than he let on, and even if he had not noted her presence now, he certainly would if she decided to attack him. Even though she did not want to admit it, but she wasn't as angry at him as she was afraid. Not only afraid of how strong he was, but of the possible consequences his actions could have brought with him.

No, as long as he was still oblivious to her presence, she would go all Sly Cooper and sneak her way around him, grab some things and be gone through the window in her bedroom before he even realized what had been going on. And as long as that guy decided to not let his gaze wander away from the TV screen, he would not be able to keep an eye on the rest of her flat.

On her tiptoes and in a slightly crouched position she slowly walked to the open door, her back almost pressed to the cold wall behind her, creating as much space between them as possible without making too much of a detour. Her eyes never left his back, her whole body tensing up whenever he moved as much as a muscle. When she had almost reached the door leading to her bedroom, he turned his head over his shoulder. She stood there, completely frozen in place and watching him wide-eyed, as he shortly inspected the door she had come through just a minute ago. He had not seen her yet, as she was more to his left and he had been looking over his right shoulder. If he decided to take a full look around though, she would be spotted.

A little bit too hasty she grabbed the door handle to her bedroom, opened the already slightly ajar door and walked into it as silently as possible for her. The moment she was in the dark room, she closed the door completely, producing almost no sound at all. Yet a muffled cry of surprise sounded from the other side, undoubtedly coming from that guy, quickly followed by some rumbling and quick footsteps.

"Oh Skit, får i helvete.*."

She had only a few seconds to come up with a new plan. On first instinct though she threw her whole bodyweight against the door, pushing herself against it to keep it shut close and him out.

_'Keep him out. Don't let him in.'_

Surprisingly, it worked more or less, but she noticed all too quickly that the guy on the other side could very well overpower her and push the door open if he tried a little bit longer. She had to keep him out while she'd have to find a bag, some cash she had hidden in her bedroom, an outdated cellphone she kept in here in case her actual phone got lost, some clothes and her USB stick. She'd rather burn in hell than leaving that tiny piece of technology behind. But that would come to happen if she couldn't figure out a way to get the door closed permanently without her pushing against it.

She almost didn't hear the muffled voice of the conduit outside her room trying to talk to her. Sentences like 'Come on, I just want to talk','Just listen to me' and 'I don't want to hurt you, you can trust me, we're on the same side here' quickly turned into 'Come out there, young lady, we seriously need to talk' -which actually sounded more playful than demanding, but she really wasn't in the mood to laugh about it right now- 'I'd rather not make some alterations to your door' and 'If you don't let me in, I will.'. It really sounded like the stereotypical crazy lunatic who was obviously out to kill his victim but tried to gain their trust anyway, and she was the stupid teenager trapped in the old garage trying to save herself from getting murdered brutally. Question was: would she be the main protagonist and survive or just some side character whose demise had been certain from the beginning?

She looked around for anything to help her get out of this situation without using the last bit of her powers to create a thick ice wall between them. Because there was no water to give her additional strength; She was almost completely drained while he was probably all powered up and would burn through the thickest and most solid wall she could create right now in no time, leaving herself completely defenceless afterwards. Chances got higher that she really wasn't the main protagonist who survived the horror film. But then her gaze wandered to her feet, to the floor she was standing on and the tiny gap between the floor and the door she tried to block. An idea sprung to her mind. It would certainly be less exhausting than making a solid block of ice and buy her at least a tiny bit of time.

The pushing and banging against the door got stronger and he was about to break through. In a fluid motion she raised her foot, focused her powers to her sole and stomped on the floor. A thin layer of ice spread over the floor, covering it entirely and spreading even into the living room, even under the feet of the bannerman. The surface was smooth, but she had no problems with standing straight and moving safely on her own ice, a surprised cry followed by a loud thump and the lack of further banging against the door though told her that the conduit outside wasn't doing nearly as well as she was. A small smile crept on her lips as she heard his muffled complaints, mixed with some admiration and praise directed towards her powers, but there was no time to appreciate the indirect compliment. She grabbed the door handle froze it as well, making it impossible to get into the room without breaking through the whole damn thing which would be a rather difficult task if one had no secure footing. Yet it would only take him a couple of minutes at most to remember that smoke was rather effective against ice, so she wouldn't risk dawdling.

She hurried to her wardrobe and tore the door open, frantically digging through her ordered piles of clothes, searching for a bag big enough to carry all the stuff she needed to take with her she had put somewhere way in the back ages ago. When she found it, she could still hear the bannerman's swearing:  
"That's cool and all, turning your apartment into an ice rink, reeeeally funny. Look how much I am laughing right no- whoa!"

_'Maybe he isn't as smart as I thought.'_

She heard another crash, indicating that he was trying and miserably failing at getting up. Meanwhile she had found her bag and had already started throwing random pieces of clothes into it. When she had decided that she had gathered enough of them, she ran to her bed stand and threw the medicine bottle filled with her remaining cash into the bag, and grabbed the flash light that had her USB stick tucked up in the space where the batteries actually belonged to. The sound of the bannerman failing to stand up had stopped, and Ella was actually quite sure he wasn't the type who just gave up and instead decided to sit there until the ice would melt on it's own. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the doorknob rattling, followed by some swearing:

"Your apartment really reflects your icy personality, do you know that?"

She had just gathered the emergency cellphone when she heard him making that awful joke and she would have rolled her eyes, but coupled with the situation she was in right now she widened her eyes in fear instead. The lunatic killer was about to get to his victim. But said victim had collected everything she needed and was about to make her dashing escape. She closed her bag, put the strap over her shoulder and ran to her still closed window and opened it quickly with her trembling hands.

All of a sudden a loud explosion erupted right behind her, and she could hear the door banging violently against the wall before landing with a dull thud on the floor. She threw a panicked glance over her shoulder and saw the conduit standing right there where her door had been only moments ago, a mixture of annoyance and smugness adorning his face. Smoke and tinder danced around his rather intimidating silhouette and as he stepped over the bedroom door which had burned and glowing marks on it's surface.

"I never really liked winter that much, I always was a summer's boy."

He might as well have said 'Here's Johnny!'. But she still had a chance, the window was wide open and big enough for her to fit through. And as a conduit she'd definitely survive a fall from such a hight, there was still a chance of escape. But apparently it had also dawned on the bannerman, as that smug expression turned into an alert one, immediately dashing forward to drag her back into the room.

She was halfway through the window, panic and terror swelling up in her chest and clouding her thoughts, every part of her body and mind had just one goal in mind: Get away! The feeling just intensified when she could feel a pair of big hands grabbing her and pulling her in again. In that moment her instincts took over completely and she began trashing and kicking wildly in an desperate attempt to squirm out of his grasp, screaming at him to let go of her. But that obviously didn't help, his arms kept her in an unyielding clutch, so she resorted to the last weapon she had. First she tried to dash away from him, but that would not work, she just couldn't turn herself into a cloud of snow and ice while being held by another conduit. So when that did not work, she started to push the remains of her stored up energy out of her body, and in no time ice and snow swirled around them, hitting various objects in her room, shattering the light bulb above them and freezing the whole place. Still she couldn't get away, but she couldn't stop herself from blasting her ice everywhere either. Not one shot hit him or caused a reaction where he would let go of her, and her already low reserves dried up fast. But she couldn't stop.

She was trapped, unable to run away and overpowered. The guy was shouting something at her, but it was just incomprehensible noise in her ears. When there was no power left that she could release from her hands, she felt the lack of energy numbing her limbs and her trashing lessened. When her protest had died down enough so that he felt secure enough to lessen his grip, she saw her opportunity. In one last attempt she gathered her last bits of energy one last time and dove forward, breaking through his iron grip and heading towards the window again. But his hand quickly shot forward again and his hot fingers curled around her cold skin. He pulled her away again, the motion so strong she unintentionally turned around and faced him. She tried to jerk her arm away from his grasp, but instead it just slipped down her arms as their fingers intertwined.

Suddenly her palms started burning as if he had just released a smoke bomb right into her palm. But when she looked down in shock and pain, she could see their hands glowing ominously, tiny shards of ice erupting from her palms and wandering in a swirling motion right into _his_ hand while little snowflakes danced around their fingers. Something pulled at her powers, her energy, her _being _and her first instinct was to fight against that sudden and unexpected intrusion_. _But her efforts were in grasp on reality was slipping away fast and memories long buried in the depth of her mind were flashing right in front of her eyes once more. She quickly lost consciousness while reliving the torn and dishevelled pieces of her past.

* * *

_Her father standing in their frozen kitchen...Him making some phone calls...her standing in the forest, smiling contently, some trunks littered with ice shards_ _and her father patting her shoulder proudly...a frozen pool in a public swimming hall...she laying in a hospital, restrained, a doctor accompanied by two soldiers clad in yellow and black armour taking some blood samples of her...she sitting in the darkness of a large depot inside a ship...a small group with glowing hands, she a part of them, travelling from town to town...more and more members of the group going missing...the remaining members departing, trying their luck on their own._

* * *

When she got out of her daze she was laying on the cold floor, feeling terribly awful and unnaturally depleted. But her strength thankfully returned to her faster than normal, but only to the state she had been in before the guy had decided to pull off his scary mind-invading trick. She needed a moment to gather her thoughts until she remembered who was responsible for the miserable state she was in. She was wide awake again in not time, eyes searching for the conduit's presence. She spotted him laying right next to her, even in a weaker state than she was right now and only one question came to her mind: _What had he done?_

If she had been afraid of him before, she certainly was terrified of him now. His strange power somewhat intrigued her, she had never even heard of such an ability -whatever that ability actually was or what it was good for- but at the same time it scared her out of her mind. He had sneaked his way into the depths of her thoughts and gone past her defences with just one touch. And it disgusted her that he had just like that intruded and violated her privacy so severely. She wanted to get away, wanted to spend as little time as possible with that conduit who probably knew everything about her by now. And now was the opportunity to get away from him unharmed and without him knowing where she would be headed to next, because even if he had read her mind, he still wouldn't know, for neither did she.

A low and strained groan sounded from the guy still laying face-down on the ground, startling Ella out of her mind. She was up immediately, still a little bit dazed by that weird experience and feeling a little bit dizzy when she stood straight too fast. But no way in hell would she stay. She stumbled to the window, feeling as weak as ever and hauled herself up onto the sill. Her bag had survived the 'small tussle', still strapped to her body securely and she was relieved that she did not have to collect it from the floor, because she wasn't sure if she had actually would have been able to bend down and then get up again. She scurried to the window and swung her legs over the sill so they dangled outside instead.

"Hey, where are you going? Wait!"

But she had already let herself fall out of the window, hitting the concrete floor down below rather ungraciously and groaning from the harsh impact as she fell on her hands and knees. And as much as she just wanted to wait until the pain eventually ebbed away, she knew that the scary conduit was still hot on her heels and wouldn't just let her get away that easily. She didn't want to relive that experience again, she didn't want to touch him again, she didn't want to see him again.

But as she glanced up she could see his head sticking out of her window, looking at her concerned but also determined.

"Stay away from me." she breathed out weakly, not loud enough to reach the conduit's ears so he could do as she bid. Instead she watched him in horror as he also prepared himself to jump out of the window. She stood up on shaky legs and ran, it was unimportant where her legs would carry her, as long as she got away from him. Her feet were unnaturally heavy and she practically dragged them over the concrete. She needed energy, she needed power source, she needed water. Her eyes frantically searched for any source of water while she was running out of the alley she had landed in. She did not know nor care if the conduit was right behind her or not, if she wouldn't get any water soon it wouldn't matter either way. She accidentally bumped into a person, but at that moment she couldn't have cared less about him or his loud protest. She felt miserable, cold, exhausted, her body was shaking, and she wasn't sure if it was out of fear or because she felt so incredibly cold.

"Hey, are you feeling well, Miss?"

Someone touched her shoulder softly, a rather innocent touch actually, but right now it felt way too intrusive. She twisted her body away from the touch awkwardly. She heard the man swearing under his breath, yet she still did not look his way. She was looking for water.

"You are as cold as ice. Let me take you to the hospital!"

"No! Not the hospital, I'm fine, just leave me be, okay?" she blurted out, alarmed. She just needed water and she'd be fine again. But of course, she did not tell the man but instead just stumbled away from him, she would find it on her own. She did not hear him following her.

_'I need water. I need water. I need water. I need wat...'_  
There! A puddle of muddy water right next to a hydrant. Hope filled her mind and she quickly stumbled into the puddle's direction, blending out everything else of her surroundings. She desperately stretched out her hand to the dirty liquid and started to absorb it, not caring if anyone saw or not. It wasn't much and did little to refuel her energy supplies, but it would be enough to get the hydrant open.

As a tiny bit of energy returned to her body she could hear some passengers screaming bloody murder when they saw the spectacle and the man who had just tried to help her back then shouting something at somebody, either her or the few panicking people around them. Another man's voice joined the shouting and her eyes that she had closed in exhaustion for one moment shot open again: the conduit!

She wasted no time and summoned the tiny bit of power she had extracted from that puddle and used it to completely demolish the hydrant. A huge fountain of water shot up several feet into the sky and rained down on her in thick, heavy droplets. More screams sounded around her, more shouting from the two men.

She held out both her hands and like magic the stream of water defied gravity, sneaking it's way right into her body through her palms. She got warmer again, more awake, aware of her surroundings again. A sheriff was gaping at her, alarmed by her violent action toward the defenceless hydrant in public, right behind him the conduit, also looking at her, trying to estimate her current status of hostility. The tension between them was almost tangible, her eyes nervously flashing between the two persons, the sheriff tensed up and slowly moving his hand to a holster on his hip, the conduit raising his hands in a pacifying gesture.

"Whoa, calm down ice-princess, just talk to m..."

The sheriff had taken his gun out of his holster and raised his arm in an attempt to aim at her. But she was on her full power-level again and therefore faster, reacting immediately by shooting ice at his hand, not freezing it, only forcing him to let go of his gun. She was relieved that her aim and ice control was still that good despite her current state: freezing off an officer's hand would have gotten her in so much more trouble than she had already been in.

But the conduit obviously did not approve of her rather harmless attack, shouting the officer's name in alarm and about to move forward. But she wouldn't have any of it, she did not want the conduit to move anywhere, so she aimed her palm at him threateningly, daring him to move one more muscle. She had her fountain still raining water down on her, the whole area around her already got colder than would be considered normal, and it was expanding with every moment; She was the one with the advantage now, and both of them were well aware of it. That thought calmed her down, and reason was returning to her actions again. The conduit stopped, his eyes never leaving hers. She didn't like it at all, she did not want him anywhere near her or him looking at her. She would take her leave, the D.U.P. would probably also only be minutes away. She'd be finished if she'd take her time to stay and fight them, but she _would_ make sure they wouldn't follow her.

"Don't do anything you'll regret later on."

She did not want to hear the conduit's voice either, she realized. But as her gaze had lingered too long on the conduit, the sheriff had tried to move closer to her. But one too hasty movement betrayed him and her attention snapped to him again and she acted immediately. She shot her power at the street and once again ice spread over the concrete they all were standing on, repeating the trick she had used on the conduit just then and immobilizing the sheriff to some extent without physically harming him. Hurting a police officer would only bring even more attention to her than there already was, so he was off-limits for her. But luckily he didn't move anymore, realizing that he'd only slip and fall should he try anything hasty. The conduit was a whole other thing though. He would melt the ice, he wasn't daft after all. And he certainly tried to do something, as he took some secure steps towards the sheriff who could have been his friend or relative for all she knew. So she made sure that he wouldn't move anymore. Once again she aimed at the conduit and released another, more powerful blast in his direction, capturing him in a block of ice that reached up to his waist and that had also captured both of his hands.

_'Jackpot'_

"Delsin!"

The sheriff cried out in shock, forgetting what he was standing on and trying to move towards him and -of course- slipping right after taking his first step. Startled by his rash action, Ella looked at the sheriff again, distracted for a moment. But that had been her mistake, because 'Delsin' suddenly dashed forward and out of his prison without any problems, catching Ella off-guard. She could only watch in shock at what he had just done. He had escaped her ice. By dashing out of it, as a cloud only consisting of_ snow and ice crystals. Just. Like. Her._ And by the look of it, he wasn't nearly as shocked by this turn of events as she was. She couldn't fathom it. He had _copied_ her ability. What. The. Fuck?! How? Why? When? Had he been able to do this the entire time, or had he learned it through that weird mind-intruding shit he had done?

_'What does it matter right now? Get your rear out of there ASAP!' _

She turned on her heels and dashed away, trying to get as much distance between them as possible. But the sound of him following her _again_ got to her again and she was terrified. She had lost her bag somewhere during all this, but she didn't care anymore. She just wanted to get away, or to get one of them both to disappear entirely. But neither of them did. Instead he got closer to her, for whatever reason. She concentrated on moving faster, rushing through deserted alleys and made many turns to get rid of him until she rushed through a vent, landing on top of a roof, where he finally caught up to her and wrestled her to the ground, this time trying to grab both of her hands rather than restraining her like he had tried the first time.

But like that time in her apartment, the moment their hands touched both of their hands started glowing again, but this time the pain was many times more intense, yet the feeling of getting her mind invaded again wasn't nearly as awful as the first time. Nonetheless she tried to wrestle herself free from his firm grasp and failing miserably. Instead she was doomed to fall back into her own memories again, and taking him with her as well. Everything went black again as she was swept away by her own memories again.

* * *

* Aw shit. Fucking hell

* * *

**A/N:**

**Haha, look who showed up again after...I don't know, some millennia. But hey, one chapter after an eternity is better than no chapter at all, right? Right?! Yeah, okay, fine I'm just gonna cower in the corner of shame now and contemplate my sins while taking another ten thousand years to finish the next chapter. But just for the records, I'm trying, it's just that I am really failing at uploading regularly.**

**Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, even though I am not really good at describing action scenes (Then why did you decide to write a fanfic about an action-shooter? For obvious reasons, of course). Next time though, we'll really come to some interaction between Delsin and the queen of the refrigerators that doesn't involve some fighting and panicking. Yay for Delsin, yay for Ella's nerves, yay for me who doesn't have to write another action-scene. It's almost a total win-win situation. **

**Once again, I thank all of you who reviewed, followed and/or put this story on their favourites!**

**You guys (and of course the normal readers also) are great and make me even feel worse for my awful updating habits. :D**

* * *

**Savage Kill:  
**

The 'secret' about her pills will be revealed eventually, don't worry, and don't get me the wrong away, I'm kind of glad that you're not certain about medication's prupose and still guessing, because that means my story isn't that easily and obvious to predict :D

About the 'Mary-Sue-thing', something along those lines. I mean, it's okay if one character is stronger than the other, but he can't be better at everything and be almost perfect, because let's face it: perfect characters are annoying, boring and can destroy the whole story.

Thank you for your review, and we'll see each other in the next chapter...I'll try harder this time, I promise :)

**xoxo(guest):**

I've skimmed what I've written so far and found some weird grammar- or spellingmistakes, thanks for the notification (though I can't be sure if I got them all, sorry for that), and thank you :)

Well, then at least I hope Ella won't turn out to be a badly-written character

Thank you very much for your review, I appreciate it :)

**Aesculus (1):**

Thank you for you kind word, and I'm relieved that Ella seems so likeable to you, tells me she can't be that much of a horrible character :D

Maybe I'll just stay with sotnös instead of sötnos and make sootsneezed her special and lovely nickname for the story, has a nice sound to it, wouldn't you agree? :D But seriously, thank you for your corrections, I appreciate all the help I get :)

**Aesculus (2):**

Good to know that my story seems to keep the golden mean so far. I just hope that won't change anytime soon, so I'll cross my fingers as well (though that could be troublesome while I'm writing this, so I'm counting on you :D)

Yeah well, you obviously know more about the swedish language than I do, so I am going to trust you with this (...even if you are a stranger on the internet :O) I mean, you are the expert here, because I know I'm not :D

**Aesculus (3):**

Don't worry, the more often I am told what I have done wrong so far, the more I'll tray to avoid these mistakes for the next time, so you can go on and correct me all you like.

I'm happy that you are content with this story so far, gives me hope that this won't turn out to be a complete disaster. And I'm actually proud of myself: even though you disagree with Ella's course of action, you don't throw tomatoes at her for her stupidity, which means that she is either likeable and/or logical enough, I'm flattered, I really am :)

Thank you for leaving a review for each chapter, I would have already been glad if you had just written one summarized review, but one for each chapter, I really appreciate it :)

**Also thank all of you for reviewing the last chapter: **

_**sandshrew master(guest), AddictedWithAPencil, Stargiving2413, and the guest**_


	5. Chapter 5

_'I didn't know what to do when my powers awakened for the first time. But my father did. Instead of turning me in like most people would have, he made sure that no word of my 'condition' would spread. Trained me to control my abilities: If you learn how to use your powers, you also learn how to not use them at all. And for some time, it worked. For some time everything seemed almost normal again, like nothing ever happened. But my powers caught up to me soon enough. All the effort put into keeping my little secret safe turned into nothing in a moment's notice.  
_

_After the incident I had been frightened. So much, that I didn't even put up any resistance when they finally came for me. I thought that a full restraint would be the solution, that I'd be better off then...safe and always checked, never a __threat. But while they waited for a safe transport to take me to the U.S. -to Curdun Cay- they ran their tests, imprisoned me in some hospital, bound me to a bed and left me...all alone. Soon enough I knew that such a life didn't let me feel safe or at ease at all. So I managed to escape...from the hospital, from the city and out of Sweden. I couldn't stay with mom or dad, or any place at all; I was always on the run. But even then I wasn't on my own, I found people like me and we travelled in our group from place to place, always together. But wherever we went, the D.U.P. Would be right behind us. Soon our group grew smaller and smaller with every passing month. It was only a matter of time before the rest of us decided to separate again, to try our luck on our own: We'd have to stay alone, but free.'_

Delsin only cam back to his sense slowly, his vision blurred and his surroundings spinning like he had taken one too many free rides on a carousel. It was exactly like the first time, with Hank: the chase, the power absorption, the mind-reading, figures that the fainting and feeling like shit in the aftermath would occur again too, right? But how long had he been out exactly this time? And where was he? Even more important: Where was the girl? She should be there, she had just experienced the exact same thing as him now, thus she had to be laying somewhere nearby, Delsin assumed. But as he slowly turned his head, intensifying the spinning and the nausea that came with that movement, lying there and not feeling safe enough to stand up anytime soon, he didn't see her. Maybe she was lying on the other side? But after gathering his strength and turning his head to the other side, on the verge of vomiting his guts out, there still was no fridge in sight. She was gone, and without a trace this time.

He was up on his feet faster than lightning, and even faster back down on his knees, trying to tell up from down. Where had the fridge run off to? How long had it been since she had recovered and fled? He waited a moment to shake off the nauseous feeling and dashed to the roof top's edges only when he felt relatively well again, using his elevated position to scan the streets down below and the other rooftops. He did not see her blond head down there in any of the poorly illuminated streets, nor some sort of glittering snowy path with a sign that said 'The icicle went this way!'. There were alleys covered with a thin layer of ice, but he was fairly sure they had been the result of their little chase, and would only lead to the street where he and his brother had confronted her together, not to her current position. In other words, she was gone again.

A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he jumped down into the alley covered with frost, not bothering if someone had seen him pulling of this stunt. It could take him _days_ trying to find her again, days he couldn't just waste on chasing after someone who had more experience in running away than in social skills. His peoples' conditions were getting worse and this city was still going downhill fast. He couldn't spend his time on one woman that clearly neither wanted to be found nor seen.

_'But I don't have to go after her anymore, I got what I wanted from her. Sure, I lost my hope of making her my partner in crime, but hey, I think I'll survive...but my own faithful and loyal minion would have been...sooo awesome!'_

It still angered him to no end that he had probably lost her for good this time. But just running his rounds around the block in a desperate attempt to find her would only be waste of time and energy.

"This day has to be by far the worst of my Seattle vacation. But don't get all riled up Delsin, look on the bright side! You got yourself an awesome new set of powers. If Augustine gets all heated up again in our next confrontation, I'll know how to cool her down just fine."

A small forced laugh escaped his lips, before he reconsidered his words one more time.

"Oh god, that was awful! At least nobody heard that one. No, wait, I wish refrigerator could have heard that because that would have also meant that she'd actually be here."

As he jogged his way back in resignation to where he presumed Reggie would be he realized that this night could only turn to the better from now on.

* * *

He could still hear his heart pounding in his ears as he followed the trail of ice and frost left behind by the bio-terrorist _and_ his brother. He had always hated the thought of Delsin doing all those...things, but to now really have the confirmation that his brother could widen his arsenal just like that...to say that he was worried would have been one of the greatest understatements this week. But of course, just as Reggie had finally caught up with his little brother to make sure nothing bad would happen to him, he had been left behind...again. His brother had once again thrown caution and common sense to the wind and instead of facing the threat together, like they had agreed to do it when they had come here, he had decided to take it upon himself to bring the bio-terrorist down. It had always been difficult to look after his little brother and keep him safe, but with his new 'condition' it was next to impossible to complete such a task. If Delsin would only _listen_ to his big brother once in a while, maybe they wouldn't have even been in their current situation.

The frost covering the dirty walls and floor was an easy enough lead to follow, though Reggie was unsure about what to expect at the end of this path; He could only hurry up and hope for the best. He had seen what his brother could do and that strengthened his hopes to find his brother alive and well. But the woman had been intimidating in her own right, precise, yet also obviously panicked. And he knew from personal experience that panic could be a dangerous catalyst for all sorts of accidents.

The path he followed was longer than Reggie had anticipated and not nearly as linear as it first seemed. Every corner he rounded, every street he crossed he prepared himself for the end and what would expect him there, yet it would only reveal another long path marred with ice and snow with no Delsin in sight. It was pure torture! But then he heard it, slow footsteps dragging over the floor and heavy breathing somewhere near him. He wouldn't have heard it had the area he was standing in not been completely deserted: Their little hunt had sent all the passengers nearby fleeing in terror. The noise didn't sound from the path he had been following so far, but more to his right. It did not sound like the person making those sounds was in any good condition. Oh god if that was his brother...

"Delsin? Delsin are you there?"

He immediately changed his course and approached the alley the sound had come from. The sound of footsteps ceased immediately and the heavy breathing stopped as if someone was holding his breath. That was odd, suspiciously odd. Was that even Delsin? Or someone else? Reggie's hand slowly wandered to the direction of his gun he had picked up after his brother and the bio-terrorist had taken off to who knows where, all his senses on high alert. He noted that the air around him suddenly was unnaturally cold for this time of the year and it wasn't because of all these ice shards to his left.

Instead of just openly walking into the street, Reggie chose the safer way, peaking around the corner instead and of course affirming one of his worst fears: the bio-terrorist was leaning against the brick wall with one hand and looking as if she had just gone through hell. Just like when he had met her on the streets ten minutes ago, before she had decided to blow up a hydrant and freeze the whole block. But no sight of Delsin. Where was he? What had she done to _his_ brother? Anger, mixed with concern for his brother surged through Reggie's body in waves, giving him enough courage to round the corner and openly face the clearly weakened woman, his gun already aimed directly at her chest. Not one second later their eyes locked, his determined stare boring into her tired and scared eyes. She straightened her stance and raised her arm she didn't use for her support on the wall almost automatically.

At first it appeared as if they were in the same situation as before, but if Reggie had any redeeming quality, it was his perceptiveness and quick evaluation of any given situation. And things were clearly different this time, and luckily, to his advantage. For starters, she looked tired and weak, had she been a normal person, Reggie could have overpowered her with ease. In addition to that, the characteristic swirling of snowflakes and ice crystals around her arms was missing which meant she was drained. And a very quick look around and he was sure this time, there was no source of water to replenish her power. In short, he was the stronger one right now! They both knew it, but she was desperately trying to fool him anyway.

"Don't get any closer, I dare you."

She was bluffing, but he'd be stupid to fall for it. Any blind person would notice her total lack of energy to fight back. Whatever she had done in these last ten minutes, it had taken it's toll on her. However, there did not come many reasons to Reggie's mind as to what exactly she could have lost her energy to, and none of them gave Reggie any reassurance about his brother's current state. He'd hope for her sake that his brother would be alive, or else he swore, she wouldn't get out of this alive.

"Where is my brother?"

"Wha-? Stay away from me!"

Her intimidated voice echoed of the brick walls surrounding them as Reggie forgot all cautiousness and walking determinedly to her instead to get the information he wanted out of her. He had no time to beat around the bush right now, he needed to know what had happened to his brother. She stretched her arm a little bit more in his direction, a motion that usually was followed by white ice-missiles, but this time it didn't create anything of that sort. She really was out of energy. Only better for him.

"What did you do to my brother?"

He had grabbed her arm now, pulling her closer so he would detect any lie she could have possibly tried to feed him.

"What did you do to my brother!"

His grip around her cold arm tightened.

"I- Nothing! I didn't do anything, let me go."

"Then where is he? Tell me. Now!"

"I didn't do anything, really, I swear!"

"Answer the question!"

"He- You...I think on the roof, maybe? Please just let me go, _please_!"

She was in a complete turmoil, her fear evident in her eyes, her struggles, though weak, staying persistent, but he wouldn't budge. He wouldn't let a danger like her just run around freely, he had a responsibility as a sheriff to protect the people from any harm and prevent as many dangerous incidents as possible for him. And she clearly classified as dangerous, a ticking bomb just waiting to blow up. Not to mention that she had probably hurt his little brother. No, he would put her where she belonged, behind bars.

"Show me."

"Wh-what?"

"Show me the roof!"

He changed his grip on her, twisting both her hands behind her back and shoving her forward, ignoring her weak attempts to resist his will by pressing her feet into the floor in front of her and stemming against his grip. It just resulted in her losing her balance as he pushed forward and only Reggie's hold on her arms preventing her from falling face-first onto the concrete. Her resistance was the same as any other minor criminal he had ever had the pleasure of arresting (his own brother included) and for a second he had almost forgotten that she indeed was a dangerous threat to society, the only thing reminding him that she really wasn't that normal right then her unnaturally cold skin.

She still resisted, both physically and verbally and he noticed that she regained some of her strength with every passing second as they continued backtracking the trail of ice that would lead them to the roof top where Delsin would (hopefully) lay unharmed. But her body temperature did not change, nor did any ice-shards or frost-crystals start erupting from her fingertips, which he was grateful for. As long as her powers wouldn't add to his list of things to worry about right now he was able to focus on more important matters: namely finding Delsin.

"I swear if you just as much as much as lied a finger on him I'll..."

"Whatever happened to him on that roof was his doing, not mine, okay? You can't hold me responisble for that!" she replied with a cracked voice.

"We'll see about that."

"I didn't want this, it's not my fault!"

He did not bother answering her desperate pleas anymore, it was always the same old story. He just wanted to find his brother and lock her away where she could do no harm and be out of the D.U.P.'s grasp. But how long would it take him to reach Delsin? The squirming bio-terrorist in his grip slowed him down drastically, but he couldn't just let her go or lock her up in the car and leave her unattended. But if she _had_ done something to De...

"Reg? Reggie? Reggie-Veggie, is that you?"

Waves of relief washed over Reggie when he heard Delsin's voice echo from a not so far distance. And from the sound of it, he was in a much better condition than the bio-terrorist, not sounding hurt or exhausted at all. In fact, he sounded as healthy as ever. And lo and behold, there his brother appeared from behind a spiky wall of ice, a slightly surprised expression adorning his face.

"Reg, you can't believe how happy I am to see you both!"

"Delsin, you're okay!"

"What do you mean, 'I'm okay', I'm a professional, of course I am"

Relief was quickly replaced by slight irritation: his brother was as careless as always, not taking the situation seriously like he should.

"Oh? And letting the bio-terrorist..."

"The word's _conduit_" both Delsin andthe woman replied almost in perfect unison.

"...letting _her_ escape was also a highly professional thing to do, right?"

"Hey, you let it sound like I did it on purpose, which by the way, I did not. And this way you got to know her personally, I know she has bit of a cold demeanour, but you'll warm up eventually. So now that everyone is acquainted with each other, it's the perfect time for nice little chat."

"You can talk to her if you want, but not here. We have to make sure that someone like her won't pose a danger to the people anymore. And I already have a perfect place in mind on where to put the likes of her."

The woman's struggling got stronger again as she listened to Reggie's every word. But he paid it no mind, he was more concentrated on Delsin's reaction which wasn't really the one he had hoped for. He knew his little brother like no one else and therefore could easily predict when he was about to do or say something stupid.

"What? No, don't do that Reg! She hasn't been a 'threat' for the people for years and she still isn't."

"Right, and what about blowing up that hydrant? Freezing the whole block? Trying to _shoot_ me? Trying to shoot _you_? Do you think _that_ was all within the safety measures?"

"You were pointing a _gun_ at her, any normal person would try to defend themselves! And in her defence, waiting for her _in_ her apartment may have not been the politest way of setting up a second meeting."

Aforementioned bio-terrorist had ceased her struggling and did nothing but stare in silent fear and uncertainty between the two arguing brothers. She held still in his grip, obviously waiting for this argument to be over, though her doubtful glances between the two men gave away that somehow both options seemed to be rather unappealing for her. But her opinion did not matter right now, the final decision was theirs to make. But Reggie couldn't believe what he had heard just now: His own brother was siding with the bio-terrorist he had not only just met today, but who had also thrown deadly icicles at him, twice!

"I can't believe you are actually taking her side right now."

"Listen, Reg, she stays free!"

"No, someone like her can't be left unattended."

"Oh, if it's that what bothers you then _I_ will watch out for her!"

Reggie could contain his sarcastic laughter.

_'Oh, the irony!'_

"You, and taking responsibility? I think it has become quite clear in the past that we have different expectations when it comes to that."

"What, don't you trust your own brother?"

"Of course I do, I just don't trust you with her."

Delsin's expression changed then, a serious look on his face Reggie had rarely ever seen on him his entire life. A plea to listen to him, to trust him in this matter. To give him a chance to prove himself, to believe in him. And if Reggie could not do that, who else would?

"You sure you can handle this? Fine, I'll leave it to you! But before you do that, I want you to remember this: If she harms innocent people, be it on purpose or by accident, then it'll be on your head as well."

It was his last warning, his last attempt to convince Delsin to not do it, but Reg could see it in his brother's eyes. He was not going to back off now.

So he let go of the woman, shoving her away reluctantly, watching her stumble clumsily into his brother's arms.

"Don't screw it up, man." he said before turning on his heels and walking away from the scene.

"Don't worry, I won't."

* * *

Ella watched the sheriff's form walking away from the scene, in shock. Then, slowly she looked at the bannerman, still processing on what had just happened now. She was free, out of the D.U.P.'s grasp, but then again, she wasn't. She was bound to him now. A guy who opposed the D.U.P. openly and pummelled with it's soldiers on a daily basis, a person she'd usually keep a wide distance from. But either that or being hunted down again and then locked away for sure. But what did he have in mind for her anyway? Just what was he planning to do?

He averted his gaze to her, probably catching her staring blatantly at him, but she couldn't care less, she was allowed to stare in such a situation, she needed to process things. An awkward small laugh left his lips.

"So...uh, how about we have that chat now, get to know each other, share some tricks."

She just nodded absent-mindedly. She did not want to be here, with him -especially not with him that close-, in this situation, but what else was she supposed to do? That mind-invasion -or whatever it was he had done to her- had sucked up all her energy she had drawn from the hydrant. And what was even worse, she had not been able to refuel it, her powers had not obeyed her, the water had not come to her when she had reached for it. The only thing affirming that she hadn't lost her power entirely was the familiar coldness nestled deep inside her chest seeping through her whole body from there in a constant rhythm.

"But not here. Any cool place you have in mind?"

She just looked at him, ignoring his not so funny wordplay that made this conversation all the more awkward and instead contemplating his question. She'd like to go to her flat, but that was too risky. People would recognize her, and the D.U.P. would be there to investigate the situation in no time. She honestly couldn't think of any place right now where she'd be comfortable around him. She'd let him decided instead, his suggestions would be as good as hers.

"You've followed me enough times today. I think it's my turn to tag along."

He just raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had not expected such an answer from her.

"Okay, as long as you don't run off the moment I turn my back on you..."

"Don't worry, you've done a pretty clean job with stealing my powers. I won't be going anywhere."

"Wait, what?"

She looked at him, surprised. She got almost the same look back, but his was mixed with a hint of puzzlement. Did he not know what he had done in her flat and on the roof? Wait a minute, had he done this even though he did not know for sure what the consequences would be?

"The thing you did on the roof? Taking my powers? I can't use them right now! I thought you did it on purpose! Did you not know this would happen?!"

"Uh, you see, I don't cross roads with conduits I can do that trick with that often. Actually, you're the second one I've tried this with."

"What?!" she snapped back, indignantly.

"So this was what, some sort of test run, to make sure your trick wasn't a one-timer? You're telling me that you did not know for sure what would happen and you did it anyway?! Are you nuts?!"

"To my defence when I absorbed Hank's powers he was back on his feet in no time to throw his missiles at me!"

She did not know who Hank was, and she did not care. This guy hadn't just been desperate in catching her resulting in his recklessness as she had first assumed, it seemed his carelessness simply belonged to his nature.

"Do I look like Hank?! Who knows what could have happened. You could have killed me, or made me into a degenerate moron or crippled or something along those lines!"

"First of all: I think you are overreacting maybe a little bit and secondly, I didn't, so no use in getting all heated up. I thought your abilities were ice-dependent."

_'Just you wait until I am back to full force, you wish you'd never been born!'_

Their argument was interrupted by sirens going off in the distance, approaching at a fast rate: The D.U.P. was on it's way! They looked at each other in alarm, her anger forgotten completely in that moment, his defensive posture replaced by a slightly tensed one.

"Lead the way, _'bannerman'_."

As both of them turned into the same direction -away from sirens- and started running like normal humans, he let out an exhausted groan and cast her a mortified look.  
"Oh not you too! I seriously need to find a way to get rid of this name." he murmured more to himself than to her as they crossed the street, almost getting hit by a car in the process. Then he turned to her as they rounded a corner, and Ella could already take a good guess as to where they were headed to.

"You do not have, by any chance, some connections to a popular news agency, do you?"

"Huh?"

How ridiculous could that guy get? They crossed some more streets, but the area was getting more and more run-down, until a big deserted building came into view. Any civilian watching them could put two and two together as to where they were headed. If they were lucky, the D.U.P. wouldn't resort to asking passengers which would buy them some more time at least.

"Ah, never mind, but do me a favour, just call me Delsin."

"Riiiight." was her plain answer. She was not out for finding some new friends and she almost couldn't care less if she called him bannerman, Delsin or reckless idiot. What she cared about was who had seen them and who would tell the D.U.P..

"You know, this is usually the part when you introduce yourself."

They had rounded the hall and were now standing at the poorly sealed off back-entrance of the warehouse. Had she had control over her ice-powers, it would have been no problem dashing through the wide gaps between the run-down doors, but as it was, she needed another way to find in.

"Ella. Would you be so kind as to somehow open these doors for me?"

He stared at her weirdly as if she somehow had said something stupid. Then it dawned on him.

"Right, you're kind of low on battery. Just wait a second and step aside. And don't run off again, okay? It was really hard finding you."

She retorted nothing, just taking his last comment as some sort of compliment and taking some steps aside.

Delsin dashed through the gaps with his newly achieved powers, covering the huge old rusty doors with frost. Ella just rolled her eyes: how was he supposed to open this damn door now that it was frozen completely? That thing wouldn't budge anytime soon. She could hear Delsin swear under his breath and grumble something that suspiciously sounded like '_This freezing-things-when-you-go-through-them will become a pain in the ass, I just know it'_

"You still there, icicle ?"

"I wish I wasn't." was her cold reply. And she meant it. But running away without her powers would be futile. It was hard to escape from a conduit, she could tell a thing or two about it.

"Aww, don't say that, we just got to know each other, we're going to have an awesome conduit-show-off-time together, you'll see."

"How about opening the door first?"

"Okay, okay, you like to get straight to the point, I get it. I just hope you're at a safe distance."

Why would she need to be at a safe dis...Oh no, he would _not_ do that!

But just as she had figured out what he would be about to do, the doors had already been slammed out of their hinges and sent flying several feet past her, shattering into several pieces after the harsh impact with the crumbling concrete floor.

In the newly made entrance stood reckless idiot, holding a hand out to her and slightly bowing:

"An open door, just as the queen of frosty encounters demanded." he said in a mocking voice.

She just stared him down. She still did not like him, and he wasn't making a better impression on her right now either. There was just one thing she could retort.

"You're reckless."

"Man, I thought that Reggie's character was unique in it's own way, but it seems I have just found Reginald 2.0, the female version. Brand new and only available for a short time, with some special extras, like freezer-abilities and the deathly frost-glare I am getting right now."

Ella just walked past him, ignoring his 'friendly taunts' and his outstretched hand while she was at it and instead inspected the inside of the run-down building. The floor was dirty and had many stains, cracks and leaves covering the surface, the roof had some huge and some lesser holes, giving away the sight of the dark night-sky of Seattle. The pillars that had once supported a whole roof were crumbling as well and some of them were stained with ash and ember, as if someone had thrown fire right at them. Somewhere in the middle, there stood a mouldy old couch and several abandoned camp-chairs around an improvised table made out of a wooden plate and a flipped cable drum. The walls were tagged with all sorts of motives: some beautiful pieces of art, some crappy pieces of art, some weird squiggles that she assumed should be names, but in reality could be anything and some targets with soot marks all over them. Some empty bottles of beer and other liquors were sprawled all over the place as were several cigarette and joint butts.

"Eh, just for the record, I don't live here, it's just a convenient place for me to hone my skills."

"I figured out that much." Ella once again shortly replied. She walked straight to the rotten couch which had a disgusting, but thankfully mild smell to it, and let herself fall onto the piece of old furniture. She caught Delsin making some sort of grimace obviously an attempt to parrot her. She ignored it.

She had not forgotten the reason she was here, she had not forgotten what he had done to her, and she had not forgotten that he had invaded her mind forcefully, against her will. Granted, she had been saved by him as well, but she could already tell that it was not out of pure kindness. He wanted something else from her besides her power, that much was obvious. When he settled down right next to her, she skidded sidewards, trying to put as much distance between them as possible without standing up.

"Okay, I know we started off on the wrong foot, but if I want to be treated like an outcast, I'll go off talking to some D.U.P-patrols."

"Well, what did you expect? A warm welcome, some special conduit-in-arms greeting?"

"No, but at least some cooperation from your side would be nice."

Ella sighed, being in his presence was really more uncomfortable than first expected. But if she did not want the D.U.P. _and_ him trying to lock her up in the deepest dungeon they could possibly find, she had to tag along on whatever bullshit he would be up to, that would be the safest way. But she did not know what this guy had set up in his mind exactly, though she already knew she would not like it at all.

_'I am screwed either way, maybe I should have just gone with 'Reggie-Veggie', let myself get locked up in some cell and just be done with it.'_

But there was still that spark of hope that Delsin's plans wouldn't involve her throwing herself right into the D.U.P.'s headquarters or something along those lines.

"So...you wanted to talk. Talk."

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a warm personality? And there is the frost-glare again."

"Just get on with it."

"All right, all right. Where do I start..."

"Why you are here, for example?" Ella suggested frostily. Could he just hurry up? She did not want to dwell on one place for too long, the D.U.P could be really thorough with searching for bio-terrorists over a larger area. And an abandoned storehouse not so far away from the commotion just screamed 'Secret conduit-clubhouse ready for check-in'. But he took his time, made himself more comfortable on the couch before explaining, a much more serious expression gracing his face now.

"Okay, to put it short. I have some business I'll have to settle with Augustine, and I cannot leave before I got what I came for. The lives of my people are on the line because of me, because of the powers I recently discovered for myself. I need Augustine's concrete-power as soon as possible, That's what I was here for initially, but what the D.U.P. is doing here, what _Augustine_ is doing here, I can't let that just happen without doing anything against it."

_'Well, that's an epiphany that came a little late to someone.'_

"But either way, I need to get stronger if I want to reach Augustine, and that's where you come into play."

"Or rather my powers...So, that's your plan: sucking up as many conduit's abilities you can get and then forcing Augustine to relinquish her concrete-power to you so you can go back and help your people?"

"I admit, it still needs some detailing, but roughly put, yes."

_'He's dead meat and he doesn't even know it. Bad news for you, Ella: If you don't find a way to get away from him, it'll be the same for you. Hooray!'_

"Uh-huh, that's a way to put it. And what will I have to do so I can add my part to this brilliant plan of yours?" she replied with cold sarcasm dripping from her tongue.

"Don't think I haven't heard that sarcasm right there. Seriously though, you've already given me your powers, that has already taken me a huge step closer getting to Augustine. But I'd be a really happy conduit if you'd proceed assisting me anyway. You know, being back-up, helping me out when I'm knee-deep in the D.U.P.'s concrete and so and so forth, and helping me get a grip on my new arsenal of skills. And maybe helping me to convince the other conduits to 'lend' me their powers."

_'I'll tell them to get as far away from you as possible. At least they won't be pulled in his suicidal plan! You'll get your rear arrested or even killed faster than you can say 'bio-terrorist' if you go on like this.'_

"Nice of you to phrase it as if I'd have much of a choice here."

"Hey, I'm not forcing you to do anything, my name's not Augustine."

"Your brother had a slightly different view concerning this matter."

"Come on, Reg is a cool guy, he just isn't..."

"...so cool with bio-terrorists?" she finished his sentence for him.

"He'll warm up to you in no time."

"Listen, Delsin, I've given you my powers and all I will offer you to get you and 'Reggie-Veggie' off my back is showing you how to control them properly. I won't charge into D.U.P.-patrols head first for you, I was happy with not being noticed by anyone, it kept me safe from the all-seeing eyes of the D.U.P.."

Delsin huffed out some air and snorted.

"Yeah, but I think they may have noticed you by now. Come on, this is your chance to get rid of them forever. Aren't you tired of all this hiding for _years_?"

"Look, this is how it is: I know how the D.U.P. works when it comes to arresting conduits, I've been avoiding them for the past seven years. And it's not looking good for either of us. Especially not for you and your poorly thought-out plan."

Delsin straightened in his seat, still convinced that he could somehow convince her to support his madness.

"See? That's why I need your help. With your experience, my power-absorbing abilities and Reggie's connections within the police department we could change things as they are."

She suppressed an irritated groan.

"I somehow get the feeling that you don't know what you are in for. Things won't just change like that."

"So what? Then help me instead of just standing on the side lines and telling me that you know better. Of course nothing is ever going to change if you don't stand up for yourself and _do_ something about it!"

"I won't risk my freedom for your childish plans!" she snapped back, angered. What were they supposed to do? They were two, three if she counted Reggie, the non-conduit in. Three people against a _whole _organization that had seven years of experience with finding, defeating and jailing their likes. What did _he_ know anyway, he hadn't seen half of it.

"You don't have to, all I ask of you is to help me with this, and if it's just you telling me how their strategies work. You'll help me and I'll help you."

Ella looked him in the eyes and saw nothing but determination in them. She wouldn't get rid of him, or at least not get rid of his brother, that much was clear. And when she thought about it, he had achieved a lot in these past few days, more than anyone ever had. And if he'd stick to his words, she wouldn't be any more in the D.U.P.'s spotlight than she already was. Maybe he wouldn't be able to overthrow Augustine and her organization, but he may have a chance acquiring her powers and get back to his people and doing a lot of damage in the process. As long as the attention would focus on him, as long as all eyes watched him instead of her, she'd be better off. But the moment he'd get caught they would set their eyes on the remaining bio-terrorist, like on her, for example. But if she made sure he would be on the loose as long as possible, maybe there'd be a chance of escape. But would teaming up really be worth it? One slip-up and she'd be as deep in shit as he already was. But then they would have each other to guard their backs, right? But could she trust him with that? Had she any other real choice? She had been discovered already, as he had already pointed out. Sure, he had been the reason for her final discovery, but it had just been a matter of time, right? If she wasn't incognito anymore, then teaming up would be safer, would it not? But it went against all the rules she had set up over the past years, rules that had kept her hidden. Was the situation really that dire that she had to throw them all out of the window? Had she not learnt her lesson about teaming up? She wasn't cut out for this, and if she'd screw up in this shaky alliance, she'd have them all on her back again. Only difference from now: Delsin's party would be more pissed than ever.

Her head hurt from analysing the situation. She doubled over in her sitting position, massaging her temples in an attempt to cease the pain. What should she do? She felt cold all over again, and the pain intensified, feeling as if she had eaten too much cold ice at once and getting a brain-freeze as a consequence.

"Hey, are you alright, you're dropping the room temperature for about 20 degree or something." she heard Delsin's slightly worried voice. But it was off, his voice echoed in her head and sounded so far away.

_'Come on, Ella. Keep it together, don't loose it now! You got this, just get your shit together!'_

She suddenly straightened up in her seat, startling Delsin who had come closer to her. When she gave him a side-glance she could see a million questions surging through his mind at that moment. But right now, she had just one answer for one of his questions:

"Alright, Delsin. Let's team up!"

His smile only formed slowly, but growing quickly to a wide and honest grin.

* * *

**What's going on here, it did not take me ages to finish the next chapter?! Maybe I'm just ill or something, who knows, or maybe my motivations and my muse concerning this fic came back to me from their long journey through the creativity-low. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I tried to keep everyone as much in-character as possible. And before you go and make any false assumptions: **

**No I don't plan on making Reggie the bogeyman or major bitch of this story that'll antagonize my protagonist non-stop. But Reggie is indeed not very fond of bio-terrorists because of their parents death probably caused by them, he literally is like that to every conduit he encounters 'cept Delsin for obvious reasons. But that doesn't mean that Reg will now constantly be the new evil guy besides Augustine. As Delsin said, Ella and Reg will eventually warm up to each other (or at least try :P). So I don't think that his acting towards Ella is really out of character and only there to create a person my Oc can bash later on, but if you disagree, then just tell me in the reviews or PM me about it, I'll happily discuss this with you in all seriousness.**

**Otherwise I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always, thank you all for reading, reviewing, following and putting this story on your favourites!**

**AddictedWithAPencil:**

Haha, that's right, there is just no escaping him. Nice try though, Ella. I am glad I could make your day, and thank _you_ for reading and reviewing this story, because that lifts my spirit as well :)

**Savage Kill:**

To be honest, your past for Ella seems way more intriguing than what I have already planned for her. But I kind of got this whole story figured out, and changing her past now would mean throwing half the story I have set up out of the window, so I won't. But I'll keep that in mind, seriously I do. So don't be too surprised when you actually find your suggestion implemented somewhere else in this story later on ;)


	6. Chapter 6

A wall of monitors lit the faces of several men who were staring at the moving pictures in front of them. Almost all screens showed shaky video footage filmed by helm-cameras of the patrols sent out to investigate the multiple calls reporting two bio-terrorists fighting it out on the streets. Unfortunately, what the cameras showed was only the aftermath; There was no trace of the perpetrators to be found at all. They were too late, again. That would have never happened if the new bio-terrorist hadn't demolished every single security camera and drone in the district and expelled most of the units stationed there. It only made things so much more complicated.

But that wasn't what bothered one of the men watching the tapes in their monitor-room. What bothered him wasn't the extent of the damage that had been done, but _how_ it had been done. Ice and frost covered the whole place, giving some of the soldiers serious trouble staying upright. Not even the APC had a solid grip while driving over the ice, making it unmanoeuvrable and not fit to enter the danger-zone. And the damage did not cover just one street, the ice had covered a flat - which was now closed off and to be inspected by D.U.P. and Police Officers - the street and made a long track winding it's way through the surrounding area.

_'But that would mean...'_

The man opened a drawer, looking through some files until he found the three right ones and throwing them on the desk in front of him in a haste. He opened each of the files one after the other, quickly skimming over the content, always taking a moment to look up and compare what was with what was written. Nothing did fit the way it was supposed to.

He quickly put a finger on the device plugged in his ear, calling a pre-programmed number. His call was answered immediately:

"Here is the surveillance-division for Belltown-district. We have a situation here, contact Augustine this instant! No, this cannot wait, she needs to see this footage as soon as possible! We may have discovered an unregistered bio-terrorist in Belltown! Yes, I'll transmit the footage to the conference room immediately. Over and out!"

Even though it was in the middle of the night, Augustine was staring at the scene displayed on a big screen right in front of her not even five minutes after the notification. Her obsession with her work was as admirable as it was frightful. Surprisingly, her face that always had appeared to be carved out of stone now resembled a mirror more than ever, reflecting at least a fraction of her thoughts. During the last days, this commonly rare occurrence had appeared with a concerningly high frequency. These signs of slight anger and high concentration revealed themselves all the more often since this Delsin Rowe had shown up and caused this great havoc in the city. It was rather unnerving, to say the least, for this slip of control would only happen in very special situations. Situations that usually resulted in throw-backs for their organisation. Situations Augustine had not or rather could not predict and use for her advantage.

But even if one could see the gears turning in the woman's head, the frustration buried deep inside this woman's core, it was still almost impossible to predict what she was about to do. Only one who would have been close to her could have deciphered her, but there was no one there at the time, so all were left to wait in suspension. Only when she slightly turned her head towards the other high-ranked officers standing with her in the room could they prepare themselves for the orders the woman in front of them would undoubtedly give now:

"I want every file we have gathered so far on every bio-terrorist with ice-capabilities: the arrested ones, the ones killed in action, the missing ones, and those of our agents; I want them all until this afternoon on my desk. Give the order to transfer more troops to Seattle before the situation here gets out of hand. And finally, contact the officials I left in charge at Curdun Cay. Schedule a video-conference with them at ten o'clock. Dismissed!"

* * *

"So, Ella, what's the first thing we are going to do in the name of our new forged alliance?"

She just looked at the man with the beanie as if he was the weirdest odd-ball ever in the whole history of dorks. As far as she had gathered, he was the one in charge in their frail partnership. He came up with all their plans and ideas and probably would be the one to carry them out as well, she would just be there to criticise everything he'd come up with while trying to make sure that he'd not end up killing them both. And to be honest, no one liked to be corrected at every turn and soshe had assumed it would lay in his nature to avoid her opinion at all costs. It was kind of surprising for her that he asked for it so soon already. When he noticed the deadpan look she was giving him, he just looked as mildly confused as he seemed to be amused:

"What? Lady's first, isn't that how the rule goes?"

"I did not take you for a gentleman, to be honest."

"What? I am the perfect example of chivalry!"

Ella just rolled her eyes, holding back a snappy comment. But she wouldn't miss this opportunity to do something logical in -what she was sure of- an upcoming series of moronic plans she would partake in. Not when he offered it so willingly. And she had not to think about it for very long.

A small and tired sigh escaped her lips. She had been so caught up in the most recent events that she had forgotten how exhausted and tired she was. But now, as some tranquillity had returned into her life for a couple of minutes, she clearly felt it. In addition to her normal exhaustion, she was also drained from her ice-powers temporarily which only intensified the feeling of fatigue she was experiencing now.

"Okay, how about finding a place to rest for a while. And don't even suggest sleeping here, because if the D.U.P. won't swoop this place anytime soon, some other shady guys will. Or some wanna-be gangster teens for all I know."

"That's the only thing on your mind? I expected something more exciting! Like showing me some of your tricks and sharing your knowledge with me, sensei. Or at least giving me a conduit-exclusive tour around Seattle."

"Sorry to remind you, but Ella-Sensei is a little bit low on energy because of certain 'bio-terrorist activities'."

He inhaled deeply and was about to argument against her suggestion, but as he opened his mouth, nothing came out. Instead, his whole composure slackened. Not speaking with the loud voice like he had obviously first wanted to, he resorted to some less enthusiastic mumbling:

"Right, Ikind of forgot that part."

But as quick as the guilty feeling had overcome him, as soon it had ebbed away.

"So, let's go to a place for some little winter sleep. But then you'll show me how to use this new asset of abilities, promise?"

"Stop with these awful references. !"

He threw up his arms in mocking protest.

"What, did you forget your sense of humour while being on the run? My puns are hilarious!"

As soon as he had finished that sentence though, he seemed to think about his words, and truly, his boastfulness dissolved, giving away to the humble realization.

"Yeah okay, _maybe_ some of them don't sound as good as they do in my head, but at least I'm trying."

Once again, he was only rewarded with an icy frown. But it did not last long, and she rolled her blues eyes in mild resignation.

"All right, all right, I never said anything. But seriously though, do you know a place I could stay overnight?"

"Oh, I know a place or two."

* * *

The sun was just about to rise, it's rays already dyeing the dark sky of the night in warm violet and orange colours on the horizon. The dim light drew ominous silhouettes of the high buildings lining up on the ground, making up new shapes the longer one would look at it. The air was still cold, making Delsin's breath visible every time he exhaled. It was a truly a scenery one couldn't help but admire; Too bad though that Delsin wasn't an early riser and therefore completely unfazed by it, not really aware of his environment. Yawning, he glanced at his phone: a quarter to six. He was standing on the roof of the building they had settled on before they departed this morning – or night, whichever way one liked to look at it.

She had reluctantly stayed the night with him and Reg at the hotel the brothers had chosen to 'live' in while they had business in Seattle. Neither she nor his brother had been really chilled by this decision, but she had no cash with her, her apartment was under D.U.P.-surveillance now and they couldn't really afford to pay for another room or anything. Oh, it had just been such a thrilling experience, being in a room together with his brother and Ella. The room temperature had 'only' dropped so low that water was barely staying in a liquid state – or at least that's what it had felt like; A pleasant experience through and through. Sleep had been a bliss which sadly would only come with great difficulty, considering that it had felt like camping somewhere in the arctic region.

She hadn't even apologized for her battle against the heater, but then again, he wasn't sure if she had even been aware of her effect on the room-temperature. Instead, she had excused herself as they both had been about to head out together to test his new powers. She had been really moody and in a hurry when they had gone their separate ways; Ella probably wasn't a morning person either. And since she had proficiently refused his company to go to wherever it was she had headed off to – not that she had given him a proper explanation – they had decided to agree on a place and time to meet up. It had slightly dampened his anticipation, but it wasn't enough to greatly demotivate him. He was still looking forward to discovering what he could do with his new set of skills. But he wouldn't start without her yet. Well, he was here, where was she?

"I should have know; Girls always take ages to get ready in the morning."

Fortunately for him and his patience, Ella actually decided to grace him with her presence two minutes later. He had only noticed her because of the swirl of cold white and grey crawling up the wall and the sound of crunching snow whispering in his ears. She had obviously regained some of her strength. She did not look as moody as this morning anymore, quite the contrary, actually. Seemingly refreshed and in a good mood, she moved towards him with almost bouncing steps. He could barely believe it. So, naturally, he just stared at her, totally entertained by that display and trying to suppress any chuckles that might escape his lips.

Delsin did not want to destroy her rare lively mood she was displaying now, who knew how long it would last. Therefore, as the gentleman he was, he only gave a subtle hint about her minor delay.

"Two minutes late. Waiting for you was pure torture, I could barely handle the loneliness."

To his surprise, he for once did not receive the death glare from her. Instead, he watched as she fought a small smile trying to fight it's way on her face while raising a brow and rolling her eyes.

"If I'd only known that, I wouldn't have hurried up at all."

Her voice had lost some of its coldness, not enough to sound friendly or even neutral, but still nicer than the night before. It was a pleasant surprise, the second one for Delsin this morning.

"I didn't expect you to be that cruel; I can hardly stomach it."

She just raised her hand clutching a small paper bag. Printed on the brown bag was the logo of a cafe he had walked by several times already. He had never bought anything there since he had been busy – with being the city's hero, of course and not with running for his dear life.

"If your stomach can't handle this, then I am completely fine with it, all the more for me."

"I didn't take you for a greedy type."

_'Nor for an overly caring person either' _

Of course he kept the last part for himself as he approached her casually. He didn't want to test her tolerance for his jests too much right now. There would always be a later for that.

"Because you could already determine that after the short time we spent together." she retorted dryly.

"I've got a good hand with people."

"I already noticed."

He snatched the bag out of her hand instead of replying. She didn't try to stop him. After a short examination and a quick grab into the bag he handed it back to her, his part of the breakfast in his hands. He was grateful for the food, as he had forgotten about it early on.

It wasn't a surprise then that he was done eating quickly; She finished shortly after. Now came the fun part. No more delays, no interruptions; He was about to become the ice-king of Seattle.

"How is this going to work? Am I going to show you what I do with my ice and you try to copy it?"

Oh right, she didn't know he could absorb...something from Core Relays that made him able to do things.

"Yeah – No that's not how it's going to work. Don't get me wrong, I am sure you would make a splendid teacher and all, but I've got a faster way to learn new things."

Ella looked at with a mixture of dismay and suspicion.

"Oh, really? Then please, enlighten me."

She did not sound convinced at all. Actually, her voice was almost as toxic again as it had in the beginning. And here he thought he could make progress step by step with her.

"The Core Relays."

He hoped she knew what those things were.

"The ones scattered all over the city by the D.U.P.?"

She did not sound intrigued.

"Yes, exactly those."

A indignant snort left her throat.

"You do realize that they are used by the D.U.P. for locating and tracking conduits? What would you do with them, except – I don't know – blow them up?"

"You're getting pretty close. Blowing up _is_ a part of the training program. You see, I think I can use those glowing lightboxes to learn new tricks."

A moment of silence passed between them, filled with awkwardness and doubt. Her stare was calculating, he could see her going through every possible scenario. He had already noticed that specific characteristic about her; She overthought everything she did. And it always took a lot of time to answer or make a decision as a result. Too bad that he wasn't the patient type of person.

"Come on, what could go wrong?"

"Do you really want an answer to that?"

"No, I just want you to tag along, tell me a little bit about the new things I'll be able to do then."

"Wow, I already feel like the typical sidekick by now."

"Oh, don't say that, you're special."

"I always knew I was a special snowflake."

That one had surprised him. He had not expected her to make such a sarcastic, yet somewhat friendly comment nor had he expected her to use the mediocre reference to her natural skills.

"Who is the one using horrible puns now?"

Surprise flashed over her features before realization hit her. She let out a low groan of frustration.

"Oh shut up and just tell me where we have to go."

It was amusing, watching her like that, to say the least. He couldn't contain the playful chuckle anymore; He would have a lot of fun teasing and poking her character like that.

"Why in such a hurry all of a sudden?"

"You're pretty useless right now if you can't control my powers."

"All right, all right, don't want you to say any more of these cold-hearted things."

He had almost missed the icy glare from last night. How lucky he was then to see its return this early on.

"Let's see, my brother marked the positions of the Relays on my phone."

_'After a long and tiring argument, by the way.'_

He reached into the pocket of his trousers and fished the small device out of it. The time he needed to navigate himself through his phone was spent in cold silence, giving him a slight shiver. They had to improve their group-dynamic if he wanted this to work out the way he had imagined it in the first place.

"Sooo, closest one should be somewhere around third corner fifth avenue, Virginia street. You know where that is?"

She just nodded, not giving him a second glance as she dashed forward, right to the next roof up ahead. It took him a moment to follow her lead, using the only method he could use right now with his ice-abilities. Still, he couldn't catch up with her speed, the gap between them getting bigger and bigger every second. It almost felt like a deja vu. Except this time, she actually _was_ faster than him.

"Hey, I don't know if you forgot, but we are a _team_ now, you don't have to run away anymore!"

Ella, three roof tops ahead of him now, came to a stop, taking in an impatient stance as she somewhat begrudgingly waited for Delsin to catch up.

"When did you get so fast, lady?"

"When did you get so slow?" was her simple response.

Delsin tolerated that, she had only met him yesterday, she was still allowed to be snappish. That didn't make sporadic mood swings on the occasion any less endurable. It was almost as if she tried to stay somewhat grumpy no matter how she actually felt. But all beginnings were difficult, this was just a phase, he was sure of it.

"The pupil humbly begs for a slower pace."

"You take the lead then."

* * *

The rest of their short trip to their destination was spent in silence. Ella stared at the occasionally materializing back of Delsin mindlessly. She wasn't quite sure what to make of him. He seemed nice enough, though he acted a bit too familiar with her, as if they had known each other for a long time already. It made her hesitate, unsure of how to behave. So the surest way was to keep him at some distance for now. She had teamed up with him to leave this city as a free woman, not to have some adventures and seek out new friends. But it appeared that he was hellbent to convince her of the opposite. She needed to remind herself to be on guard all the time around him. Unfortunately, she failed to do that only two minutes later when he came to a stop, having reached their destination then. She only barely managed to not waltz into him and practically tackle him to the ground, though she halted way too close to him, and just as she had regained her balance in order to retreat to a safer distance, he turned around.

"So watch and adm – whoa!"

He stumbled back a few feet, obviously caught off-guard by her unintentional close proximity.

"I think you are taking the term 'getting close' too literal."

Ella could already feel the heat rising up her neck and cheeks; This was just weird. Everything with him had been weird so far. But she wouldn't get embarrassed in front of him. What did she care anyway what he might think of her? This wouldn't last long, and they would be on their separate ways soon enough, just like she intended.

"It's the best you're going to get, so appreciate it while it lasts."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."

_'Oh, but I would be. No wait, not would, I _am_ sure of that!'_

Ella did not want to continue this small banter, she had better things to do. Not to mention that she didn't want to spend too much time around the device set up by the D.U.P..

"You said you could use these things in a sensible way. Then go ahead and use it."

Delsin's face showed an emotion Ella couldn't quite decipher. He appeared to be annoyed? In thought? Uncertain? Or just mildly irritated? Whatever it was, he tried to mask it with either indifference or humour, as he turned on his heels and walked up to the dark grey box of metal.

"You just watch and be amazed."

Ella just watched with a mixture of doubt and yet anticipation as Delsin released the chain wrapped around his right arm and focused on freezing it. Not a moment later the chain was rigid, with a thick layer of ice engulfing the links, but it didn't stop there; A whole shard manifested around the chain, crawling up to the user's arm and basically turning Delsin's whole right arm from the elbow on into a giant, sharp stinger with a thin, razor-sharp blade.

She had to unwillingly admit, for a beginner he handled her power quite well.

_'But he has yet to truly _do_ something noteworthy with them.' _

With one fluid motion, he pierced the metal sheathing in the middle, only to cut away the upper part from it with some force. The blade had not shattered. It only crumbled to a fine powder of snow when he was done using it. Maybe he had trained while she had not been paying attention – even if that period of time would be ridiculously low at best. Otherwise she just couldn't really explain his skill with _her_ ice. It had taken her months to master the beast others called her power over ice!

Her spike of jealousy was quickly washed away though by the surprise and even shock of what Delsin did next. The core of the relay was glooming a shrill blue, giving off strange vibes. Delsin though just stretched out his hands and the light went straight _into_ him, just like her ice had gone into him the day before. But instead of just knocking him out or slowly glowing out, it spread through his whole body until it engulfed him entirely. Suddenly, the light burst out of him, staying in a bubble of blue around him and slightly _lifting_ him up from the ground.

Alarmed, Ella took a step back, getting some more distance from him and more specifically, the dangerous light. She proceeded to watch in mild shock as it looked like Delsin was having a seizure right there while floating. His back buckled and his arms and legs twitched in the air; Ella had no clue what to do. There was the strong urge to help him, but it was suppressed by her instinct telling her to stay the heck away from the light, as it clearly was the culprit for Delsin's current state.

_'I knew this was a stupid idea!'_

But then, as if nothing had ever happened, the light disappeared, quickly dimming out. Delsin stood on his own two feet again, though admittedly somewhat shaky, and let some ice swirl around his arms. Ella was dumbfounded.

"What ju- How?!"

"I told you it would work."

His tone was as smug as it was somewhat childish. He was right, of course, but he could have warned her, and not brush it off so casually. But instead of arguing over that, she was more interested if that – whatever it was he had done – had worked or if he just got himself a free heart attack. She couldn't hide away the angry glare she was firing at him though, which caused him to display one big, goofy grin.

"I only believe you when I see you spouting some new techniques."

A siren could be heard down the street. It was getting louder, approaching quickly. They both knew who was coming. Apparently the D.U.P. was not okay with Delsin blowing up their equipment at all. Who would have thought?

"The lady calls for a demonstration. Who am I to disappoint her?"

He had called her lady again. Why he did that was beyond her; While she noticed, she neither felt provoked nor flattered, showing no reaction to the term. Did he call every woman he knew that way or was it just her? She contemplated about that while she watched from a safe distance atop the roof as Delsin jumped down to confront the six soldiers hopping out of the tank-like vehicle. He better have obtained something mind-blowing, or he would be in for some ass-beating. As it turned out though, he hadn't unlocked the ultimate power of eternal winter or something along the lines. No, what he had just learned to do was shooting ice shards to either stun or freeze and shatter his opponents. A skill that wasn't entirely safe for the one receiving a blow, but not enough to pierce the soldiers' armour fast enough to even out the numbers to his advantage.

_'I could just leave right now. They haven't noticed me yet and probably don't expect two conduits at the same place. I could be rid of this silly partnership right now.'_

She knew it wasn't that simple, but the thought had its own appeal. Would she really be better off with him than just on her own?

"Hey, a little help would be nice, don't you think, E-"

A huge, white missile came flying from down, crashing into the foes Delsin had been facing until now, hindering Delsin on finishing the sentence. He managed to jump out of the radius just in time. When he stared at the damage she had inflicted with that one shot of hers, she could almost feel the jealousy radiating off of him, even over the distance from street level to roof top. The shot of hers had caused several shards of ice to erupt from the ground, with each soldier trapped inside a solid shard of ice separately. The closer they had been to the point where her shot had connected with the ground, the more ice had them surrounded.

Even seconds after the initial attack, the ice shards were still slowly growing or newly appearing from the ground. From the levitated position of hers, it almost looked like a blooming knapweed. She secretly called that ice flower-missile. Not that she would ever say that while firing it or referring to it; It was a silly name she had come up when she had been 18 or something, and simply stuck with it. When she had thought she could be like some sort of superhero, just like in those comics. He would probably laugh at her if he knew.

She got on the lower level to the street to meet up with him again. Trying not to brag or show off any further, she just remained quiet and fought the confident smile trying to force itself on her lips. She could tell that he wanted to be able to do this, rubbing it in his face wouldn't be of any help in their partnership. But it was tempting.

"That was amazing! Though next time, give me a warning or at least don't try to hit me with it as well. Friendly fire isn't cool."

They left the scene quickly before too many could associate them with 'bio-terrorists'. It didn't interrupt their conversation though as they headed for the next Core Relay.

"You asked for help, I gave it to you. Why you decided to take all six of them on with just basic shooting abilities at your disposal is beyond me."

"So you saw my ice shards? I am a quick learner, am I not?"

She had agree to that, as much as she would have loved to disagree. It had taken her a month back then to form proper shards she could fire with, another three to hit her targets precisely and without any of the shots somehow backfiring to her. He had not even so much as taken a second to learn it. The seizure had really done something. His shots were different though than hers.

"I guess you are."

"Do I hear a hint of envy in your voice?"

"What you are hearing is your livid imagination, _bannerman_."

_'Or just my jealousy. Not that you ever have to know.'_

He made a face at the nickname she already knew he disliked.

"That was a low blow and you know it. At least call me Delsin, Del or just smokey."

"I am positive that you have nothing smoking on you right now."

"You are just mean because my smoke could melt your ice."

Ella just glanced at him amusedly. He wasn't easy to provoke, but she had to reluctantly admit: Their casual bickering was amusing, as senseless as it was.

* * *

They sought out three more Core Relays, and with each...epiphany her companion got, the attacks he learned became stronger and stronger.

_'Maybe a better name for him would have been sponge. It fits perfectly.'_

While she could somewhat recognize his techniques and compare them to her own, his form of emitting the ice always stayed different. She found it odd. Having met a few other conduits with the same element, she had a base for comparison. And while none of them had had the exact same powers, their basics had about looked and been the same. Delsin though had it the other way around: While his fighting style resembled hers a lot – or at least the effect the attacks had – the way he handled it was just...different.

"Your powers are odd." she said as they headed to the last Relay mapped on Delsin's phone.

"That's a weird thing to say since they are basically yours."

"That's not what I meant."

He raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"You mean the absorption?"

She thought about it; Maybe it was indeed because he hadn't been born with ice heeding his command, but only adapted and copied it.

"Not directly. Your way of handling ice is...different."

"I thought it was just fine."

Had she just offended him, or was it one of his jests again? Or did she just heard things out of his voice that weren't even there to begin with?

"Don't get me wrong, you are doing well and all, but it differs from mine."

"Did you just compliment me?"

Her eyes slightly widened, not happy with her small slip-up. It wasn't because she didn't want to admit it. Well, maybe it was just a little bit.

"Don't change the subject!"

"You totally did!"

"Not discussing this."

"Okay, okay, I'll remind you later on, okay?"

He paused for a moment, thinking about what she had actually said, beside the small compliment. "Now I know I do not pack a punch yet like you do, but bear with me; I am still getting to know this new arsenal."

"It's not that! When you fire something at the D.U.P. Then the effect is always there in an instant. I guess you could say they are pretty direct. Heck, I don't know, I am horrible at explaining things!"

"Can't argue with that one. Aaaand ice-glare. I get the feeling you really expect me to freeze all over when you look at me like that."

"Not expect, I just hope." she shot back defensively.

It kind of made her even angrier when commented on her 'ice-glare', which was nothing more than her staring at him in silent fury. It was just how she expressed herself, dammit! This was stupid, she shouldn't have brought the matter up in the first place.

"Nevermind, it's not important anyway. Let's just see what you get with your last radioactive stroke and then take a break. It's past midday already."

"I would never dare ague with the lady, especially if she is as demanding as she is right now."

This time, she couldn't hide the smile blossoming across her face. He was just ridiculous.

"I knew I could make you smile! It's just part of my charm."

"It won't happen that often, I tell you."

"It's very hard to keep a straight face when you are with me, I can understand this. Nobody can."

She just continued her horrible attempt at concealing her smile again which rather looked like making stupid faces than regaining a composure. She had more serious matters to think about. How Delsin's powers worked was one of the least of her problems right now, as long as he could use them efficiently. There was something she needed his assistance with, and for that he would have to power up first. Not to mention that the D.U.P. was in an uproar again in this new district they were strolling through right now. Who could have predicted that destroying their precious Core Relays would make them so angry? Everyone, but to be fair, they were in a hurry and using the Relays was faster than her teaching Delsin on her own. And after the second power boost, Delsin had not had to rely on her in combat at all anymore, enabling her to stay as much in the shadows as possible. He would just look at her weirdly, yet remain quiet about it.

The last Core for Delsin to absorb was a setup. It was so plain obvious that even Delsin immediately took notice of it the second he lied eyes on it. The desired object was positioned in the middle of an empty parking lot away from the streets filled with civilians. There was just one high building from which one would have a clear shot at anybody walking towards the Core Relay, the rest was a rather open area with just small obstacles at the rim of the flat area, just high enough to hide an APC or some ground troops.

"Well, I just got one thing to say about this."

Delsin glanced at her expectingly, waiting for some serious counsel he would probably still end up ignoring.

"It's a trap!" she said in a funnily pressed voice.

She wasn't sure if he got the reference from Star Wars while he wasn't sure if she had actually made the reference or if he had just imagined it all by himself. His slightly confused face spoke for itself. It didn't matter to Ella though, she always did that sort of thing when a trap as obvious as this one was laid out before her, whether someone was with her or not. It was an old habit from her old days at school, a friend of her clique had started it whenever a surprise test was near.

"I don't know if they'll wait for you to become shocked by the Relay energy or just shoot at you right away. But I'm sure the sniper from the roof top will get you no matter what. Even if you tried getting to him, out here in the open you'd be an easy target. I am going to take care of him, so you'll wait until I've dealt with him before approaching the Core Relay. Sounds good?"

"How do you even know if there's going to be a sniper?"

"I don't, but it's a good opportunity for one; It's almost a perfect shot from up there."

"Sounds reasonable enough, but what if they do actually attack while I'm in lesson?"

"I think I can make some sort of diversion, should you take too long."

"You would do that?"

He sounded surprised by her willingness to do her part in this 'plan' they were crafting. But he had a point. She would risk openly revealing herself, something she was reluctant to do. But she counted on the fact that it wouldn't come to this, so she just nodded before rounding the area as quietly and unseen as possible.

In the end, she had been right in her assumption of a sniper positioned on top of the building. Taking him out had been a tricky task. She had to make sure that she would take him out in one go lest he would alarm his teammates about another conduit sabotaging their operation. She also had to make sure that she herself wouldn't make too much of a ruckus or the other soldiers would notice too. But it all worked out after all: she came up behind the man laying between the two giant neon letters from a sign which had been planted on top of the building without drawing his attention. Freezing him over from a short distance was all it took to immobilize him entirely. Done with her part, she froze part of the giant neon sign and descended down from her position. Making her way back to Delsin though, she noticed the position he had caught himself in.

He was surrounded by a whole squad of twelve soldiers and two APC in total, all of them pointing their guns at him or already summoning their concrete-powers. Silently cursing her stupidity in underestimating the enemy's numbers so severly, she prepared to launch an attack at the nearest soldier. What slightly irritated her though was the lax manner in which Delsin stood in the middle of attention, taking in no fighting posture and silently chuckling to himself while watching his hands absent-mindedly. He reminded her of a lunatic.

_'Is he relying on her coming to his rescue or what?!'_

Maybe he had absorbed one too many Relays and finally fried his brain entirely. Either way, it made her angry, pushing her so far that she seriously contemplated to just do nothing. Of course he _had_ to do this just as they figured out their group-dynamic.

Suddenly, he summoned ice from his palms, causing the soldiers to open fire on him, but in vain. In a mixture of awe and shock, Ella watched as the snow literally exploded from his body, engulfing everybody and everything standing too close in a thick cloud of snow and ice, taking away her vision entirely. She stood outside of the thick cloud and stared at the huge, swirling cloud as it slowly shrunk back, some sort of vortex erupting with Delsin at it's centre. The ice shards and thick snowflakes started swirling back to him in an alarming speed, revealing bit after bit of the area initially engulfed by the storm; snow and ice covered the surfaces and froze the soldiers in place.

They were still conscious though, struggling against their cold prison in vain. When every last bit of the cloud had returned to Delsin's chest, who barely looked human anymore, but rather like some creature made out of coldness, entirely _floating _in the air with thick shards of ice lazily swirling around him, he slightly bent over. Then, in a final outburst, he let all the energy stored up in his chest explode and shoot out like a fan, with light-blue ice missiles flying around him, knocking out every D.U.P.-soldier initially hit by the blast and demolishing the APCs beyond repair. Finally, he slowly ascended down again, the glow disappearing from his skin and quickly regaining his senses. When he spotted her, his grin was practically beaming at her like a proud child showing off in front of their parents.

She still had to process all of this. That had been an entirely different level of power than he had operated up until now. He casually jogged towards her, as she was still busy staring at the completely frozen and with snow covered area, taking in the imposing sight.

"That was _awesome_! Did you see that?"

She needed a moment to answer his question, and even then her voice threatened to fail her.

"Y-Yeah, I kind of did...Impressive."

"Hey, everything alright with you? I didn't hit you with that, did I?"

"No-no, I just have to take all this in" she waved around with her hand, referring to the demolished area.

His smile returned immediately, very proud of making her speechless and cracking down her facade for once.

"Hehe, not like something you've ever seen before, right?"

In his own excitement, he failed to notice the pure expression of shock and fear plastered across Ella's face.

Oh, she _had_ seen this before, multiple times, to be honest. And it always reminded her of one place. Her father's frozen house.

* * *

**So this was the latest chapter of Addicted. To be honest, I am not that content with it, rewrote it several times and it still feels a bit...meh. But I thought it would be important to show the dynamic between those two at the beginning,a lil' bit of experimenting. It's hard though to make these two work together, because their approaches to the D.U.P. couldn't be more different, and in the end it is poor Ella who gets dragged along by Delsin on his 'conduit-how-to-throw-ice'-workshop.  
**

**I really hope though it was decent enough for you guys. **

**As always, if you find any mistakes or think something could have been handled better, just leave a review. I appreaciate any criticism and thoughts alike.**

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!  
**


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